Drama as south Cyprus police arrests 3 Turkish Cypriot men for kidnapping and the illegal transfer of murder suspects to north Cyprus

Greek Cypriot police on Wednesday arrested three Turkish Cypriot men for the alleged kidnap of the murder suspects of Turkish Cypriot woman, Ayça Alav, in an illegal operation in south Cyprus.

The three Turkish Cypriot men aged 37, 46, and 47, were arrested on Wednesday, Jan., 10, 2024.

According to report by the Cyprus mail, Greek Cypriot police, the trio were arrested in connection with “a case of abduction with the purpose of secret and unjust imprisonment”.

The three were arrested on suspicion that they abducted “the two victims, Cameroonian nationals [who] … appear to be the same people suspected of having committed a murder in Lefkosia, north Cyprus on December, 22, 2023.”

The three arrested men are the same people who illegally brought the two murder suspects to north Cyprus from south Cyprus where they escaped to following the murder.

Turkish Cypriot police had said on Tuesday that the pair had been “identified and arrested in Pile”, but reports emerging on Wednesday gave a different narrative.

Turkish Cypriot newspaper, Yeni Duzen had reported that the murder suspects were “smuggled from the south to the north, after contacting two Turkish Cypriots men who they thought would smuggle them to Egypt.”

Turkish Cypriot police were “aware of the plan” and waited for them near Pile to be handed the suspects.

Greek Cypriot police had initially said they had no knowledge of the case or the Turkish Cypriot-led operation to find and apprehend the two suspects in the south.

After handing the suspects over to Turkish Cypriot police, the two Turkish Cypriots returned to the south leading to their arrest.

It is assumed that the arrests of the murder suspects likely took place outside of the agreed upon structures regarding fugitives who cross the Green Line.

One of the Turkish Cypriots involved in the operation, Huseyin Demirel, filmed the handover of the suspects to the Turkish Cypriot police. In the footage, he is seen with the suspects in his own personal vehicle.

Another, Ufuk Hasan, said he had been a part of a “secret mission” which lasted for four or five days. He added that he “gained the trust” of the suspects before contacting the Turkish Cypriot police and taking them to Pilea.

He said the murder suspects had not been returned to the north “with identity cards” and that the Turkish Cypriot police had not moved into the south within the scope of the operation.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Ayca Alav, 45 was found dead at the Hit Bit suitcase shop she owns in Lefkosia city center on December, 22, 2023. The suspects accosted her at the Hit Bet shop and tied her hands and feet behind her back with a seatbelt and an antenna cable. Police said they covered her face with duct tape, killing her.

After having killed her, the pair made their way to the bureau de change Alav owned, which is located near the Kyrenia gate, from where they stole an “undetermined amount” of cash in TL and Euro.

Two men, a Cameroonian and a Pakistan national who helped the murder suspects escape to the south are awaiting trial in prison.