Yugoslav wanted after ‘key ring gun murder’

A YUGOSLAV man wanted for the murder of a 25-year-old builder from Limassol was still at large yesterday.

Nicos Panayiotou was shot dead shortly after 4am on Saturday, reportedly after a heated argument with 31-year-old Dragan Pravoulovic in Limassol’s Privé club in Mouttayiaka.

Witnesses said the two men argued while at the bar, then at some point moved towards a corridor connecting the bar to the kitchen.

Customers then heard a single gunshot and saw Panayiotou stagger back and collapse, covered in blood.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Limassol’s general hospital.

Police have unleashed a manhunt for Pravoulovic, who is thought to have used a key ring gun to shot Panayiotou through the heart at point-blanc range.

The miniature guns are seen as a menace to police worldwide as they can be carried on planes virtually undetected. The weapons have two 32mm calibre chambers, and can kill at up to 20 metres.

They are around three inches long and as wide as a matchbox.

Police said the suspect had arrived on the island in February and managed to obtain a long-term visa after he was employed as the director of an offshore company, which is not showing any financial activity.

Police are confident he is still on the island and his arrest is a matter of time.

They have also contacted Interpol for clues on the suspect.

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