NEWS

Suspects held for corpse theft

A Cypriot man and an Indian national were yesterday remanded in custody over the theft of the corpse of the late Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos from a Nicosia cemetery last December, a crime believed to have been masterminded by a convict serving a life term in a Cyprus jail. According to police, the convict has admitted to ordering the theft of the corpse with the intention of securing a ransom from the late leader’s family. Police were tipped off about the convict by the Indian suspect who has allegedly admitted to telephoning the relatives of the deceased on Monday night and informing them that the stolen remains had been left in another cemetery. Early on Tuesday, police found the corpse and subsequent DNA tests confirmed that it was that of Papadopoulos. Justice Minister Loukas Louka said that the late president’s relative had refused to pay a ransom demand. The family later angrily denied receiving any such demand.

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