POLICE YESTERDAY continued their search for the fourth suspect wanted in connection with the murder of media mogul Andis Hadjicostis on Monday.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos yesterday requested that the media refrain from publishing every detail of the case or rumoured scenario as it could jeopardise the investigation and put at risk any subsequent trial, as well as expose those who are targeted in each scenario.
The Nicosia District Court remanded three suspects in connection with the case on Friday, named as Theophanis Hadjigeorgiou, 30, Andreas Gregoriou, 33, and Costas Proestos, 37, all from Nicosia district. The three deny any involvement in the crime. Hours after their remand, police secured an arrest warrant for a fourth suspect, believed to be implicated in the shooting of the DIAS Group managing director outside his Nicosia home.
“Police investigations into the location of the fourth suspect are continuing at a rapid pace. He has been sought at his residence and other places, where our information suggests he frequents. Until now, nothing positive has come of it,” Katsounotos told reporters.
Commenting on reports that the fourth suspect has already left Cyprus or at least the government-controlled areas, Katsounotos said police have received information suggesting such a possibility but that investigations would continue to locate and arrest the suspect regardless.
Asked whether his name was put on a stop list, the police spokesman said: “For someone to be put on the stop list, an arrest warrant has to be issued first”. He explained that the arrest warrant was only issued on Friday afternoon, after the three suspects had been remanded and “once we had a clear picture of all the facts regarding the suspect we are looking for”.
Police will release the fourth suspect’s photograph once they obtain one, added Katsounotos.
Asked whether police are monitoring the movements of those believed to be behind the murder, the possible “masterminds”, he said all appropriate measures are being taken.
“In any case, there has been no identification of the moral instigators of this crime. What we have done in relation to the motives of the crime is rule out political motives.”
During the remand hearing on Friday, police argued that the evidence and testimonies gathered so far implicated the first three suspects. Head of CID Thomas Efthymiou relied on three key verbal testimonies, which he said put the three suspects in the vicinity of the crime three weeks earlier, suggesting they were staking out the route Hadjicostis made every day from work to his home.
One testimony allegedly has the suspects bragging about the fact that they were going to commit a murder against a SIGMA executive which would bring them a lot of money. The same testimony alleges that Hadjigeorgiou told a friend he was the shooter.
Police also believe they have found one of the motorbikes used in the murder at Gregoriou’s residence, while they also claim that Proestos’ fingerprints were found on the helmet visor found near the crime scene, leading them to the conclusion he was the driver of the getaway motorbike.
A number of mobile phones were found at the suspects’ residences and on their persons which police will likely seek court orders for so they may investigate the records of phone calls made.
Police also found €10,000 in cash and a cheque worth €10,000 during a search of Proestos’ residence. Katsounotos yesterday categorically rejected a report in one newspaper that the person who issued the cheque was a police officer.
The spokesman made a plea to the media to tone down the detailed reporting of the case and publishing of various scenarios that crop up.
“We understand and respect the public’s right to know the progress of the investigations. But on the other hand, it must be fully understood and respected that this right does not extend to letting everyone know the details of the police investigation, because that poses many dangers.
“First, it damages the investigative work and in some cases removes the element of surprise from the police. Second, because there are many scenarios, assumptions and estimations, which may leave some people exposed. And third, in the event that the case is brought before justice, it could be at risk from all these publications which we see from time to time,” he said.
