Larnaca, Cyprus. A sixth arrest has been made in connection with a burglary staged in Larnaca in February 2024, with a 31-year-old man appearing in court on Sunday. The man was handed a five-day remand.
Sixth arrest and other suspects
Five other men, aged 43, 42, 41, 29, and 27, have already been arrested in connection with the case.
Four of those arrested, the 42-year-old, the 41-year-old, the 29-year-old, and the 27-year-old, are serving life sentences after being convicted for their parts in the murder of Demetris Andronikou.
Murder of Demetris Andronikou
Andronikou was shot three times in broad daylight while riding a motorcycle in the Nicosia suburb of Lakatamia on April 23, 2024, with one bullet hitting him in the neck. He died of sepsis arising from his gunshot wounds on May 28, 2024.
Details of the February 2024 burglary
The robbery took place in the early hours of February 19, 2024, when four people gained entry to a house in Larnaca which, according to newspaper Phileleftheros, belonged to a well-known land developer active in the city for years.
The four reportedly smashed the house’s back door, threatened the occupants, the man’s 58-year-old wife and two domestic workers, with garden shears, and took mobile phones and jewellery from them before ordering the 58-year-old woman to open the house’s safe.
From the safe, they took watches, more jewellery, and cash, with the stolen items later found to have a combined value of €188,000.
CCTV findings and stolen vehicle
After CCTV footage from the property was examined, a fifth perpetrator was identified. Authorities also found that the five arrived at the property in a stolen vehicle, which they later abandoned in the riverbed of the Yermasoyia river.
Watch traced to Lebanon
A few days later, one of the stolen watches was spotted for sale on a social network platform and was found to have been sold to a jewellery shop in Lebanon. The shop’s owner told authorities the watch had been recommended to him by people who contacted him from Cyprus.
What do you think the investigation will reveal about how the stolen items were moved from Cyprus to Lebanon?
