Government confirms Koshis assassination fears

THE GOVERNMENT was tight-lipped yesterday amid a frenzy of media reports that British drug lords were planning to assassinate Justice Minister Nicos Koshis.

Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou would only confirm the that British and Cypriot authorities did have intelligence about plans to assassinate the minister on a weekend visit to London.

Koshis yesterday returned from the UK, where he had been attending a diaspora gathering to mark the March 25 and April 1 national holidays.

British police took draconian security measures during the visit after being tipped off on a plan to assassinate Koshis.

Reports suggested a British-based drugs gang and its Cyprus affiliates were behind the plot.

Armed police sealed off the area around London’s Bloomsbury Theatre where the Sunday meeting was taking place.

Snipers scanned the area from rooftops, while a police helicopter tracked Koshis’ car along the route to the theatre.

Five hours before Koshis arrived, police with sniffer dogs searched the theatre for bombs. Even lampposts outside the theatre were taken apart.

Guests at the function had to pass through special metal detectors installed by the Metropolitan police.

Koshis eventually arrived back in Cyprus yesterday at around 5.30pm.

His time of arrival had been kept a secret amid fears for his safety, and there were rumours his return was postponed after a suspicious individual was spotted on board the plane.

Speaking on his arrival in Larnaca, Koshis did not say who might be trying to kill him, but asserted: "No threat scares me. I will continue working the way I have until now for the good of this place."

He denied the reports that police had spotted a suspicious individual on his plane.

Earlier yesterday, acting Justice Minister, Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou, had told reporters that Koshis would not be returning until today.

He avoided further comment on the threats against Koshis, saying information in the hands of British and Cypriot police had prompted the security alert.

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.