The deadly shooting of two men in southern Athens last year was not the result of any argument between the pair but had been carried out by their respective bodyguards, police said yesterday after arresting two suspects.

The incident took place in the coastal suburb of Tzitzifies last November. The bodies of Giorgos Bourbouridis, an ethnic Greek from Russia, and Ahmet Bichirayiev, a Chechen, were found with handguns next to them.

However, police said they now believe that the two men were accompanied by five bodyguards to the meeting.

It is believed the two men arranged to meet because Bichirayiev wanted to sell protection to Bourbouridis, a shopowner. Police think that the Chechen’s bodyguard then shot Bourbouridis and one of the ethnic Greek’s four bodyguards shot back and killed Bichirayiev. The identity of the two men who have been arrested was not revealed.