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George Low murder suspects arrested in northern Cyprus after police manhunt

Two men wanted in connection with the murder of a Kent man in Cyprus have been arrested, according to reports in the local media.

Police have been searching the Mediterranean island for Mehmet Akpinar, 22, and Ahmed Salih, 43, for most of the week after Dartford's George Low was fatally stabbed in the neck outside a bar in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in the early hours of Sunday morning.

According to the Cyprus Mail, Akinpar and Salih were captured in Kyrenia - a city on the north coast of the country - on Friday evening and have been remanded in custody for three days by a court in Nicosia. George's mum, Helen Low, said she was "overjoyed" by the reports.

The first images released of the suspects. Picture: Cyprus Police
The first images released of the suspects. Picture: Cyprus Police

The duo were believed to be Turkish Cypriot nationals, but earlier today it was reported in the Cypriot media that one of them is Turkish and the other Bulgarian, with both of Arabic origin.

According to Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeniduzen, high-ranking Turkish Cypriot crime officials defined the pair as a Turkish Kurd and a Bulgarian Muslim, but it is not known who is who.

Officers had warrants issued for their arrest on Tuesday and it emerged on Wednesday afternoon that a third Turkish Cypriot man, from Nicosia, was being sought for helping them escape.

George Low and his friend Ben Barker were attacked in this street. George fell towards the green bins as he stumbled back towards The Bell Inn. Picture: The Bell Inn
George Low and his friend Ben Barker were attacked in this street. George fell towards the green bins as he stumbled back towards The Bell Inn. Picture: The Bell Inn

Akpinar's girlfriend, a 49-year-old Greek Cypriot woman from Larnaca, has been in court this week on suspicion of also helping the pair in their getaway.

According to the Cyprus Mail, Koulla Anastasiou told officers her boyfriend had confided to her that he and Ahmet had stabbed George and his friend Ben Barker, 22, following an altercation.

She said the argument was triggered when the men rebuked the Britons for urinating in public and admitted travelling to Ayia Napa on the night of the killing to deliver a change of clothes to her boyfriend.

George Low
George Low

She is then said to have returned the next day to pick up a phone he had hidden.

Ben, 22, was stabbed in the back multiple times. He survived the attack and has been recovering at Larnaca General Hospital.

Eyewitnesses told KentOnline this week that the attack was "completely random", as tributes to estate agent George - who worked at Acorn Estate Agents in Bromley - continue to pour in.

"I could not have wished for a better son" Martyn Low

Speaking outside the family home in Ladywood Road on Monday morning, his father Martyn said "he could not wish for a better son".

The tragedy has devastated the rest of George's family - mum Helen, 47, brothers Wesley and Oliver, 23 and 11, and sisters Laura and Millie, 29 and 17. They flew out to Cyprus on Tuesday in a bid to have George repatriated and are still in the country.

Speaking after the arrests, Helen said: “We just want justice for George and Ben, who has been left traumatised by all this. We want justice for them both and will now have to wait.”

More than £15,000 has also been raised in his memory since the attack, which took place on what was set to be the pair's last night of a week-long holiday on the Mediterranean island.

The Costa Coffee shop in Bluewater's West Village where Millie works is also taking donations.

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