Could human traffickers smuggle out the Akhtar brothers?

TWO BROTHERS on the run for assaulting four police men are planning to leave the island with the help of a circle that transports illegal immigrants, Phileleftheros claimed yesterday.

Citing police sources, the paper said Elias and Giorgos Akhtar from Limassol, who have been on the run since August 3, were currently planning their next move in the occupied areas.

It also said the police were aware of the fugitives’ moves in the north, yet were unable to intervene.

According to the source, the Akhtar brothers are currently residing in occupied Famagusta, while they were also spotted in Bogazi and Kyrenia.

They were allegedly approached by the illegal circle of human traffickers and told they could be smuggled out for £15,000.

Other Phileleftheros sources said the two brothers were being supported by a well-known underworld gang in Limassol, which the police are aware of.

The two brothers have been on the run for over 20 days, following an incident that took place on August 2, where, using swords, they seriously injured two police officers following a raid on their father’s home.

The two men ran off, while their father, mother and 16-year-old brother were arrested after they joined in the assault on police, who had raided their home to search for arms and drugs.

Despite pleas by the Justice Minister and Police Chief to hand themselves in, the Akhtar brothers have refused to show up.

Through a letter to Simerini newspaper on August 8, the brothers defended their actions, saying the attack was provoked by the fact that their father had been arrested in an unnecessarily violent manner. They claimed they didn’t attack the officers, but only raised their swords against them when their father began howling in pain after being handcuffed.

They also said the police officers had entered their father’s home without a search warrant and that their reaction was out of fear.

Two men arrested last week for attempting to cross over to the north with a number of documents and items belonging to Elias and Giorgos were yesterday charged and released from custody.

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.