Newsroom
The unsolved death of 26-year-old National Guardsman Thanasis Nikolaou has once again shaken Cyprus, after a handwritten note surfaced allegedly naming those behind his killing, and suggesting a shocking motive.
The note, revealed by Sigma TV’s Mesimeri kai Kati program, was anonymously delivered to Thanasis’ mother, Andriana Nikolaou, who was told where to find it in September 2022. Authorities have had the document since the day she handed it over, but its contents only became public this week.
The letter’s allegations are explosive, painting a picture of a drug trafficking scheme, family connections, and a cover-up within military ranks.
In the note, the unknown author claims that two high-ranking military officers, identified only as A and B, were allegedly using army vehicles to transport drugs, believing no one would ever suspect the military. The note goes on to implicate the sons of several prominent Cypriot families, describing them as part of the same ring.
According to the author, Thanasis stumbled upon their operation and was pressured to join. When he refused, the note says, he was transferred to an office job, apparently to keep him out of sight. But the real danger came later, after he reportedly confided his suspicions to a woman referred to only as E, who, unbeknownst to him, was the mother of one of the suspects.
The note claims E warned the ringleaders to protect her son, leading to a plan to eliminate Thanasis. It also alleges that one of the men later killed a doctor who had discovered their illegal activities while working with ambulance crews, suggesting a wider network that extended beyond the army.
The letter’s allegations are explosive, painting a picture of a drug trafficking scheme, family connections, and a cover-up within military ranks. Though the identities are redacted, the references to businessmen’s sons and former officials’ children have reignited public outrage and speculation.
For Andriana Nikolaou, who has fought tirelessly to clear her son’s name since 2005, the revelations have brought both pain and vindication. “My son refused to be part of something dirty,” she has often said. “And for that, he paid with his life.”
Thanasis’ body was found under the Alassa bridge in Limassol, and for years authorities maintained he had taken his own life. But a 2021 independent forensic report ordered after public pressure found that he had suffered a fractured skull and broken jaw, injuries consistent with a violent beating, not a fall.
Despite repeated promises of a full investigation, no one has ever been charged.
The handwritten note has now become the latest, and perhaps most disturbing, piece in a 20-year puzzle that continues to haunt Cyprus. Police say the document is part of the official case file and “under ongoing evaluation.”
Meanwhile, for Andriana Nikolaou, who has never stopped demanding the truth, the message is simple:
“They tried to bury my son and the truth together,” she told reporters. “But I will never let them rest until Thanasis does.”
Source: Sigma Live
