Disappearance turns into felony murder case

Police are still looking for a second suspect in the disappearance of an ex-con two weeks ago, with reports describing the case as a rendezvous with death with drug trafficking in the background.

(Click here for an update to the story)

Ahmed Zaidan, a 31-year-old Limassol resident originally from Syria, has been missing since February 14, after he was said to have met with a 40-year-old male from Jordan on the day of his disappearance.

Police, who arrested the Jordanian suspect last weekend, are also looking for a 30-year-old suspect following an investigation into Zaidan’s phone data. The second suspect was described as a man of Arab origins.

Crime investigators believe an evening meetup that Zaidan was to have on the day of his disappearance, reportedly with the Jordanian suspect, might have been a set up.

Additional reports said investigators were not ruling out that Zaidan might have had a rendezvous with death, after several other individuals showed up on police radar based on phone contacts on Valentine’s Day.

Some of the suspects or persons of interest were known to law enforcement authorities for suspected drug activities, while Zaidan was also initially identified as a potential prosecution witness who had been approved for police protection.

But Zaidan had not entered the witness protection programme, according to official sources, who said the ex-con backed away at his own request. Other reports said threat levels against Zaidan did not meet the threshold required for trasporting witnesses to a safe house.

Media sources said a third arrest warrant was not ruled out in the case, described by police as felony murder, while charges included kidnapping with intent to kill.