Authorities discovered a bullet in a second car involved in the Potamia police killing case, a Honda Fit belonging to an Iranian suspect currently in custody, a Nicosia court heard.
The bullet was found near one of the rear doors, showing how close the police shooting came to claiming a second victim if anyone had been sitting in the back seat at the time.
Nicosia CID Inspector Yiannos Yiannakou told the court that investigators are examining how the bullet ended up in the rear door storage compartment after being found by the vehicle’s occupants.
The court extended the detention order for eight days for a 39-year-old suspect.
Police are still searching for four additional suspects in connection with imigrant trafficking – three Turkish Cypriots and a 24-year-old Pakistani national believed to be the ringleader of the operation working with individuals in the occupied areas.
The suspect admitted to transporting 24-year-old Shoaib Khan from Potamia to Acropolis after he had been killed by police.
The incident occurred near the buffer zone near Potamia. Initial police reports indicated the shooting occurred while officers attempted to stop a vehicle believed to be involved in a smuggling operation. However, forensic findings suggesting the man was shot in the back have raised questions and contradicted the initial police account.
Moreover, an initial autopsy of the man’s body ruled out foul play. A second autopsy, performed a few days later, found a 9mm bullet lodged in the man’s back. State coroner Dr Nicolas Charalambous who performed the fist autopsy has been suspended.
Read more:
