Ljupcho Palevski-Palcho, the prime suspect in the murder of Vanja Gjorchevska and Panche Zhezhovski, has been arrested in Turkey, said Macedonian Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski late on Tuesday.
“We have just received a report from our Turkish counterparts that the creator, planner, coordinator and executor has been caught and arrested in Turkey, identical to our operational information regarding the trajectory of the suspect’s movement,” said Minister Spasovski.
The arrest comes after the Ministry of Interior issued yesterday an international arrest warrant.
The Skopje Basic Prosecutor’s Office has also requested a 48-hour detention of a 46-year-old Skopje citizen, who is suspected of helping Palevski escape to Turkey via Bulgaria and Serbia.
Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski described the trajectory of Palevski’s journey at a press conference late on Tuesday.
Palevski departed for Serbia together with his lawyer, who left him in a hotel. On the next day, another person from Skopje picked him up and took him to Bulgaria through the Gradina border crossing. Afterwards, he entered Turkey and ended up in Balikesir.
“Our services from the center for international police cooperation communicated with the Turkish counterparts, who told us that the person was located in Balikesir and wanted to leave for Istanbul. A taxi driver was used as decoy regarding his trip to Istanbul but he in fact returned to Balikesir. The Turkish police arrested him late this afternoon while on foot at one of the highways in the area,” said Spasovski.
