Police say one step closer to solving Hadjicostis murder

POLICE YESTERDAY confirmed that a member of the secret service had warned media mogul Andis Hadjicostis his life was in danger before he was murdered.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said investigations were set to move forward to the next stage as he all but ruled out political motives.
Police chief Michalis Papageorgiou chaired a lengthy meeting at Nicosia CID yesterday as senior police officers collated leads in an effort to shed some light on a crime that has stunned the country.
Later in the day, police spokesman Katsounotos hinted that the force was progressing in the murder investigations.
“The investigations are moving in certain directions. Something remains and we don’t rule out having [that] soon,” he said.
Katsounotos effectively struck politics off the list of possible motives. While the force would not rule anything out, based on the evidence, statements and facts before them, there was only “a very remote possibility” that political motives were behind the murder, he said.
Investigators had worked a lot on the political angle to reach the conclusion that it was a remote possibility, he added.
The spokesman denied suggestions that the police were aware that Hadjicostis’ life was in danger, but did confirm that a member of the Cyprus Intelligence Service (KYP) who was also a friend of Hadjicostis had independently warned the DIAS group mogul of such a danger.
“The specific member of KYP, due to his special relationship with the victim, informed him that he was in danger. But, I must clarify and be categorical, this briefing occurred within the context of their friendship and special relationship – not as a member of the police.
“And furthermore, the member did not inform any of his superiors about this information that came to his attention and which he passed on to the victim,” said Katsounotos.
The intelligence officer was brought in for questioning yesterday.
“From the currently available evidence before us, something remains which will give us the chance to move to the next stage,” said the spokesman.  
Hadjicostis, 41, was shot dead at point blank range at around 8.40pm on Monday. He was killed instantly. A number of theories regarding motive have surfaced since the murder but so far nothing has been more than speculation.

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.