Newsroom
Police in Cyprus are on high alert after two deadly attacks last week that targeted prominent figures in the island’s underworld. The killings have raised fears of a new wave of violence between rival gangs.
Thanasis Kalogeropoulos, a businessman with alleged ties to organized crime, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle in Limassol on Thursday. Police have arrested a 44-year-old man and a 41-year-old man in connection with the murder and are searching for the second shooter.
Alexis Mavromichalis, a notorious crime boss known as “Alexoui”, was gunned down outside his home in Nicosia on Friday. Police have few clues on the identity of the killer, who left only a shell casing at the scene.
Sources close to the investigation say the next few months will be critical for the control of underworld activities in Cyprus, as it is undergoing a “transitional period”. They say the two attacks could trigger a power struggle among competing factions.
