THE 35-YEAR-OLD man from Limassol wanted by police in relation to the murder of ex cabaret boss Michalakis Kakathymis was yesterday remanded for eight days after willingly returning from abroad.
The man who is believed to have played an active role in the murder was identified by another remanded suspect Panayiotis Kontou, 33, as his accomplice. Meanwhile, Kontou showed police where he hid the murder weapon, which was retrieved from Yermasoyia Dam.
“The police breakthrough in this case is attributed to new structural organisation of the police force and the new system of gathering and evaluating information. This case has been investigated for one month and actions were continuously taken by police, including the travel of police officers abroad to collect information. Certainly this case will be fully solved and we may have new revelations and new arrests,” Minister of Justice Loucas Louca said yesterday.
The 35-year-old, who is a relative of the prison inmate believed to have masterminded the murder, was arrested on Wednesday at midnight at Larnaca airport as he returned to Cyprus from Romania where he had been staying since the day of the murder. When arrested the man told police: “I want to speak to my lawyer” and has to the present refused to cooperate. Police officers asked to see his mobile phone, but the 35-year-old said he lost it while abroad.
According to police examiner Yiannakis Charalambous the remanded 33-year-old suspect Panayiotis Kontou aka Kattos told police that the 35-year-old had a key involvement in the crime as he delivered the murder weapon to Kattos who then gave it to the professional assassin who shot Kakathymis.
Kontou also told police that the 35-year-old also received instructions via mobile phone from the inmate identified as the mastermind, and had paid €30,000 to the professional assassin on the inmate’s behalf.
On the night of the murder the 35-year-old notified the 33-year-old and the 39-year-old Greek assassin on the victim’s location and kept watch outside the Loft café to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Meanwhile, Kontou also spilled the beans to police on the location of the murder weapon, which was retrieved from Yermasoyia Dam in Limassol. The pistol, along with the other weapons confiscated by police from raids at Mouttayiaka and Koilani village on Wednesday evening, will undergo ballistic tests to ascertain which was used to kill Kakathymis. Tests will also indicate whether the weapons were used in other crimes committed recently.
“Until now we have traced and confiscated two pistols, one of which is believed to be the weapon used in the latest murder, one Kalashnikov, one explosive mechanism and two firecrackers. The search for more weapons continues and we believe that by the end of the day we will have the ballistic results that will be evaluated,” Minister Louca said.
Meanwhile, Louca yesterday confirmed that another arrest warrant has been issued against a Cypriot citizen, and two arrest warrants against suspects presently believed to be abroad. Louca also confirmed that yesterday police officers would visit the cell of the crime lord believed to be the mastermind behind the murder.
