A 57-YEAR-OLD Paphos district man who was reported missing by his family last week was yesterday released by his kidnappers.
George Ellinas turned up at home just after midnight claiming he had been abducted and held in an apartment at an unknown location by four Greek Cypriot men. In his statement to police several hours later he claimed the foursome had wanted to question him about illegal drugs.
Reports said authorities are sceptical about the man’s assertions because they know he has had no involvement with drugs. Instead investigators are looking into Ellinas’ gambling history and the strong possibility he had become involved with loan sharks whom he had been unable to repay.
It is thought the 57-year-old could be making up the story about drugs so as to protect both himself and his family.
Ellinas went missing just after 2.30pm last Thursday when he got off work. His moped was found abandoned at an open parking lot next to Paphos’ municipal market. The 57-year-old Morphou refugee, now a resident of Paphos’ Moutalos refugee estate, was last seen arguing with four individuals.
According to police the civil servant said he was forced into a car at gunpoint. Ellinas claimed he did not manage to make a note of the vehicle’s registration number as it was dirty. He also said he had a brief glimpse of his abductors, whom he had never seen before, before they placed a hood over his head. Ellinas said he was driven around for about 30 minutes before he was taken to an apartment in an area unfamiliar to him.
He said during his captivity his kidnappers had treated him well and categorically denied his abduction was in any way related to online gambling or debts to money-lenders.
Before giving his statement to police, reports said, Ellinas went by his workplace at the Paphos District Office where he met with District Officer Andreas Christodoulou. Apparently the man’s colleagues embraced him, visibly pleased he had turned up unharmed. Accompanied by his son, who reported his disappearance last week, the duo then went on to Paphos police station.
Despite Ellinas’ assertions, it is thought investigators are looking into a link between his disappearance and the recent arrest and remand of three men who allegedly threatened the life of a Paphos betting shop owner after he borrowed over a million euros. Another avenue under investigation is whether the abduction is connected to the recent shooting of a Limassol police officer who was involved in money-lending.
Deputy head of HQ police operations Yiannakis Charalambous told CyBC’s early morning breakfast radio told there was a possible link between the abduction and loan sharks. He also confirmed a number of arson attacks and bombings that took place were often related to money-lenders.
“Many times usury, or so called loan sharks, is the motive behind a crime which results in threats and blackmail,” he said.
Charalambous said it was only logical for money-lenders to want their money back, but on the other hand this habit often led to “other very serious crimes”.
“What lenders do is they make private agreements and in this way give out money and get interest back at a much higher rate than banks,” he said.
The officer said there was a weakness in the law regarding loan sharks and said police would be seeking to meet with the Central Bank governor under whose remit such issues lay. He then expressed the desire for both sides to come up with suggestions which would lead to drawing up a law which deterred the practice from continuing.
