The criminal case against a policeman who was found to be leaking information to murdered gang member Demetris Andronikou was dropped on Wednesday, with the policeman returning to work.

According to news website Reporter, the officer was “serving in a critical position at the time”, but with the investigation into his conduct now having been completed, he is expected to be subject to internal disciplinary procedures rather than a criminal trial.

The website added that the officer has now returned to the position to which he was initially transferred after his correspondence with Andronikou was discovered.

The investigation into his conduct had been launched after correspondence with him had been found during examinations of Andronikou’s mobile phone as part of investigations into his murder last year.

He had reportedly sent Andronikou information related to criminal cases, photographs of crime scene, and information related to police investigations.

At a previous court hearing regarding Andronikou’s murder, a police representative had told the court that the officer was named “AVG” in Andronikou’s contacts list, while Andronikou was named “DEMA” on the officer’s phone.

The representative had told the court that “photographs of criminal acts … police records concerning searches of a convict’s cell, which contained sensitive information, as well as personal data, including names and addresses” were found on Andronikou’s phone.

The officer’s correspondence with Andronikou reportedly began in 2023 and ended in mid-2024, shortly before Andronikou’s death.

Andronikou, also known as Demetroui, was shot three times in broad daylight while riding a motorcycle in the Nicosia suburb of Lakatamia in April last year. One bullet hit him in the neck. He then died of sepsis arising from his gunshot wounds the following month.

An eyewitness told news website the Cyprus Times at the time that he was driving behind Andronikou and saw him drop to the ground in a pool of blood.

“I saw him as he fell to the ground. He was in front me, I stopped. He was in a pool of blood. He was wearing a helmet; I was talking to him asking him if he’s okay but he couldn’t respond,” the eyewitness said.

“Initially I didn’t understand what happened. Another driver from across the road shouted it had been a shooting. I then saw three bullet casings.”

Andronikou had been described as “well known to police”, indicating that he may have been linked to organised crime in the past. He had been visiting a detained individual being held at the Lakatamia police station on the day he was shot.

In December, three people were handed life sentences for their parts in his murder.

The trio, 30-year-old Omar Suleyman, 28-year-old Mohammad Al Agka, and 26-year-old Mohammad Kasab, had already admitted their guilt, while Al Agka and Kasab named Suleyman as the “mastermind” behind the murder

They joined 42-year-old Yiasser Arar, who drove the shooter away from the scene, in receiving life sentences. Arar was sentenced in October last year before turning main prosecution witness in the case against the other three.