Filenews 30 October 2023 - by Ioanna Mantipia
One by one, the pieces of the puzzle behind the mafia execution of 55-year-old Thanasis Kalogeropoulos are trying to set up the investigators of the Limassol Crime Detection Department, who are on red alert.
Police investigations have focused on open fronts and the dealings the victim had with various people lately, in an attempt to find the motive behind the cold-blooded murder.
Kalogeropoulos' executioners had devised a well-laid plan, knowing in detail his movements.
They waited for him on the beach, where he frequented daily for his morning swim, and put their plan into action, ignoring the fact that it was morning and there were people at the scene. The gangster murder perpetrated by the two black-clad hitmen was committed within seconds, with the victim lying dead in his vehicle.
Thanasis Kalogeropoulos arrives around 8:25 with his rental vehicle, in the parking lot of the seaside restaurant in Limassol to take his morning swim. There were about ten bathers on the beach and as many in the restaurant.
The attackers, who appeared to be following him in a second vehicle, which had been stolen in the previous days, disembarked armed with firearms with their faces covered.
The victim while in the car and chatting with a friend he finds in the parking lot, receives the first shots from one of the perpetrators. His friend falls to the ground to protect himself and Kalogeropoulos, after being shot, moves with his car towards the exit, however, he bumps into the wall of the premises. Indication that the bullets hit him in key places. Then the second hitman shoots him several times, from a very close distance.
At this time, it is unclear whether the victim tried to flee, as the door of his vehicle was open with one foot on the ground. The mafia execution was committed within seconds with the two masked hitmen boarding the vehicle and fleeing the place in a western direction. Philenews reports that at least one other person was in the vehicle.
After a few minutes, the vehicle used by the attackers was spotted on fire near the bypass, north towards Germasogeia. There, according to the same information, there may have been another car waiting for the perpetrators to escape immediately from the area. Both deadly weapons are found burnt in the vehicle.
Authorities are informed of the shooting and strong forces cordon off the scene of the execution. An ambulance from Limassol General Hospital arrived at the scene with the crew finding that the victim had no vital signs. A team of the Ministry of Defence headed by its director, the Assistant Chief, the Limassol Police Director and other officials arrived at the scene.
In his statements, the spokesperson of the Limassol Police Authority and head of the ICF, Lefteris Kyriakou, when asked about the focus of the investigations, said that "we are trying to identify persons with whom the deceased had dealings. Asked if the victim had been employed by the authorities and had been called to testify in connection with murders that took place in the previous period, he said that "he was a person known to the authorities and had been summoned in various cases. It seems to be a very thoughtful and well-thought-out plan."
It should be noted that eyewitness statements are already in the hands of investigators and they have collected closed circuit surveillance of the area.
Nightmarish moments were experienced by the citizens who became aware of the gangster murder. Philenews identified an eyewitness who testifies that he saw one of the two hitmen shooting Kalogeropoulos from a distance of two meters.
"I saw someone running next to the victim's vehicle, about two metres away. He was holding a gun black, large in size and began firing continuously. He shot him from a distance of a few meters and everything happened in a matter of seconds. I saw he was wearing something on his head, his face was covered," the witness said. The moments experienced by citizens and bathers are indescribable, with them trying to hide, fearing for their lives.
