A Larnaca court on Monday extended the detention of a 48-year-old for a further two days, as police continue their investigation into a protection racket linked to a daylight shootout in the city centre.
The suspect, identified as the alleged leader of a criminal organisation, was re-arrested while still recovering from injuries sustained during a violent brawl on 17 January. The investigation has now broadened to include a separate assault on a European citizen in Pyla, occurring just 24 hours before the Larnaca shootout, with the suspect facing a litany of charges including extortion, conspiracy, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The remand follows testimony detailing an organised campaign of intimidation targeting local businesses along Grigori Afxentiou Avenue. Court documents reveal that the group initially demanded a lump sum of €7,000, followed by monthly protection payments of €1,000. The extortion attempt reportedly began with telephonic threats from an associate, who remains at large.
The situation escalated on the afternoon of 17 January when a convoy of vehicles arrived at a local establishment, discharging 20 individuals who allegedly assaulted the owner upon his refusal to pay. The confrontation turned into a street battle involving axes and iron bars, culminating in the discharge of two gunshots outside a crowded fast-food outlet.
Investigators have also received intelligence that the 48-year-old suspect, accompanied by 15 associates, visited two other Larnaca nightclubs earlier in January to inform security staff that his group was “taking over” their protection.
The scale of the operation has prompted a wide-scale crackdown, with four men currently in custody and three others wanted by authorities. One previously detained individual was released after questioning.
The case has also exposed attempts to subvert the legal process; two businessmen, aged 47 and 43, were arrested after allegedly pressuring the primary complainant to alter his testimony.
The Law Office is expected to file charges against the two businessmen for interference in a judicial proceeding and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour as early as Tuesday. Meanwhile, the 48-year-old alleged ringleader remains under guard as police seek to map the full extent of the group’s influence over the Larnaca business district.
The brazen nature of the mid-afternoon shootout has put authorities under pressure to dismantle the racket entirely, with investigators looking into whether the group has links to other unsolved extortion cases.
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