Cypriot ex-leader's stolen body found: three held

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Three people were arrested in Cyprus Tuesday after the body of former President Tassos Papadopoulos, stolen from its tomb three months ago, was found in a shallow grave in another cemetery, police said.

The remains, stolen last December, were found Monday in another person's grave after police received a tip-off and DNA tests identified it as that of the former leader.

Police said they had arrested two Greek Cypriots and an Indian, suspected of involvement in the theft. One of the Greek Cypriots was already serving a prison sentence for other offences.

"Three people were arrested this evening to assist inquiries connected to the theft," a police spokesman said.

Earlier, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said the thieves had made a ransom demand for the return of the body, although no money was paid. "There was no political motive," he added.

A spokesman for the Papadopoulos family denied a ransom request was made, but the minister insisted the motive was financial. Cypriot media said the body snatchers had demanded 300,000 euros (266,900 pounds).

Papadopoulos was president of Cyprus from 2003 to early 2008, when he lost a bid for re-election to the leftist Demetris Christofias, once a partner in his ruling centre-left coalition.

A forceful character, Papadopoulos led Greek Cypriot rejection of a U.N. reunification blueprint for ethnically-divided Cyprus in 2004.

The unprecedented crime was a riddle for Cypriot authorities who sought help from Western intelligence services and Interpol.

In a well-planned operation, the thieves lifted a 300 kg (650 lb) granite slab covering Papadopoulos's grave, removed the corpse from its coffin and left the scene undetected.

Among conspiracy theories over who could have been responsible were Balkan crime gangs seeking a ransom to local thieves with a political motive.

Police quickly ruled out a political motive, which could have had explosive consequences on the Mediterranean island, divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 which followed a brief Greek-inspired coup.

"The public has every right to know the motives, because this was a case which had caused agitation on a political and a social level," Louca said. "The motives were financial."

The cemetery where Papadopoulos's body was found is close to the community where he was originally buried. Police said it had been placed in the grave of someone who died last year.

(Editing by Andrew Dobbie)