Two arrested in connection with Larnaca security guard murder

Police on Wednesday cuffed two local men aged 29 and 40 in connection with the murder of 29-year-old security guard Panayiotis “Valentinos” Kallistionis on the night of June 25 outside his parental home in Ormideia, Larnaca district.

According to the events of the case, Kallistionis was at shot around 10:55pm, with police officers arriving at the scene at around 11:10pm to find him critically injured.

An ambulance from the British Bases also rushed to the scene with emergency medics attempting to keep the victim alive but no avail.

The victim was transported to Larnaca General Hospital where doctors on duty pronounced him dead on arrival.

At the time, Famagusta police director Yiorgos Economou told reporters that Kallitsionis, a Greek Cypriot private security guard, was known to law enforcement authorities, but investigators did not yet have information on whether the victim had received recent death threats.

Kallitsionis had also been injured in a mob hit in Ayia Napa on 23 June 2016, when businessman Phanos Kalopsidiotis and three others, including an off duty cop, were shot dead while sitting on the patio at his restaurant.

Local media said a male neighbour also heard a motorcycle speeding away immediately after the shooting, adding that he also saw two suspicious motorcycles in the area a day prior to the shooting.

Additional reports said police authorities were almost certain the fatal shooting was linked to organized crime, without ruling out links to the Kalopsidiotis case.

Local media said Kallitchionis had worked as a body guard for Kalopsidiotis and had close links with the family.