A 33-year-old Limerick man accused of participating in an alleged international murder-for-hire plot in Cyprus remains in custody, while Cypriot authorities prepare to deport six co-accused suspects. The Irish national was arrested on August 28 following an undercover police operation on the Mediterranean island.

According to Cypriot prosecutors, the alleged plot targeted two British twin brothers who were visiting the island. Authorities allege that criminal elements attempted to recruit a hitman via encrypted messaging platforms, offering tens of thousands of euros for the attack. Unbeknownst to the organisers, the individual who answered the solicitation was an undercover Danish police officer, prompting a coordinated European law enforcement response involving Europol and local authorities.

Investigators allege that the Limerick suspect acted as a liaison in Cyprus, attempting to deliver cash to the undercover officer at a drop-off point outside a laundromat in Ayia Napa. Cypriot police, acting on intelligence supplied by Danish counterparts, placed the area under surveillance and detained the Irish national short distance from the location.

Irish security sources suspect the plot was commissioned by figures close to the Kinahan organised crime group using an outsourcing model involving lower-tier criminal networks, including elements linked to Limerick's McCarthy-Dundon gang. The Limerick man and a co-accused Norwegian national are due before court in Cyprus this week for referral proceedings, while six other individuals arrested in connection with the wider probe face deportation orders.