Men arrested in north believed linked to Limassol murder

Four men believed to be among those wanted by police in connection with the assassination last February of Ernest Leonides, 47, in Limassol have been arrested in the north, it was reported on Saturday.

Police said they were informed by the bicommunal committee on crime that four men were arrested on Friday in the north who look like some of the men suspected of being involved in the assassination of Leonides, but they answered to different names. It is believed they may have been using fake identification documents.

But police said that they have not yet more detailed information as to the identities of the four men and are not in a position to know for certain if they are among the wanted suspects for the murder until they receive more information from the bicommunal committee on crime.

The four men were arrested on Friday morning following a raid in a tourist housing estate in Akanthou in the north, Turkish Cypriot media reported. In the house police also located four guns and ammunition. Three of the men are reportedly from Georgia and one from the Czech Republic.

Leonides was gunned down by three shooters wearing masks at a Limassol restaurant on February 8. He was believed to be the person controlling a Georgian ring in Cyprus involved in burglaries and thefts and he was eliminated after a dispute with the Russians over the way he handled business.

A 57-year-old man from Georgia was arrested last May in connection with the case, while police are still searching for the whereabouts of eight more people.

The eight suspects are: Lasha Okmelashvili, 33, from Georgia; Aleksi Gambarashvili, 29, from Georgia; Piruz Kavleashvili, also known as Piruzi Muresan, 31, from Georgia; Sergo Aslanishvili, 28, from Georgia; Lerik Muradov, 29, from Russia; Dimokritos Magdalianov, 48, from Georgia; Roland Beniaidze, 36, from Georgia; and Vakhtang Mangoshvili, 36, also from Georgia.

Photos of all eight can be found at www.cypruspolicenews.com/ArticleSideGallery/ArticleId=11284

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.