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Suspected Russian spy may have left the island

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Cyprus police sources said on Friday there is a strong possibility that a man suspected of being the paymaster of a Russian spy ring in the United States has fled the Mediterranean island.

The man, known by the name of Robert Christopher Metsos, jumped bail and is being sought after by Cyprus police. He had failed to report to a police station on Wednesday as ordered by a court that let him free.

Robert Christopher Metsos, 55, a Canadian passport holder and alleged Russian spy wanted by the United States, is seen in a photo released by the Cyprus Police Department July 1, 2010. [Xinhua/AFP]

A Cyprus police source told Xinhua that Metsos most probably is not any more in the Greek Cypriot south, which is controlled by the internationally recognized Cyprus government.

"There is a strong possibility that he has either fled on a vessel from any of the many marinas in Cyprus," the source said on condition of anonymity. "A long shot is that he has crossed over to the Turkish occupied part of the island," he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

The source said that the police have excluded the possibility of Metsos fleeing through one of the two international airports operating in the area controlled by the government.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said reports about his whereabouts are nothing more than speculation.

"We have only made sure by examining CCTV footage that he has not left Cyprus through one of the legal airports," Katsounotos said.

He also confirmed that the Cyprus police are in possession of a laptop confiscated from Metsos when he was arrested at Larnaca airport on Tuesday, as he was passing through passport control to catch a plane for Budapest, Hungary.

Police sources said the American embassy in Nicosia has requested that the laptop be passed on to the United States authorities for a thorough scrutiny of its contents.

A United States embassy official was seen entering the Police Headquarters in Nicosia on Friday afternoon. This has led to speculation that he has set in motion the process for the recovery of the computer, but the Police spokesman refused to talk on the issue.

Metsos had been travelling on a Canadian passport which, however, is thought to be a fake one.

Cyprus police sources speaking on condition of anonymity have revealed that information was passed on to Cypriot authorities that the name Robert Christopher Metsos belonged to a Canadian subject who had died at the age of five.

Metsos is thought to have planned his escape from Cyprus as soon as he was released on bail to appear at an extradition hearing fixed for July 29.

He complied only once -- late on Tuesday afternoon -- to a court order to report to a police station but he failed to do so the next day, leading the Cyprus Police to issue an arrest warrant and post his picture as a wanted fugitive.

The picture, taken soon after his arrest early in the week, showed a bolding grey haired man with a thin moustache and wearing rimless spectacles.

Meanwhile, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou on Friday dismissed criticism at the handling of the case.

A State Department spokesman and a spokesman for the American embassy in Nicosia expressed disappointed that Metsos was released on bail following his arrest in Cyprus and was thus "unnecessarily given the chance to flee."

"The case was being handled by the police, who had asked for a detention order by a court," Stefanou replied when asked to comment on the statements. "Justice in Cyprus is entirely independent and the court thought otherwise," he added.