Imre Arakas

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Imre Arakas
Bornc. 1958 (age 66–67)
Estonia
Nationality Estonian
Other namesthe Butcher
Criminal statusin prison
Criminal chargeconspiracy to murder
Penaltysix years
Imprisoned at Portlaoise Prison [1]

Imre Arakas, also known as The Butcher, is an Estonian criminal. [2] He has also been a wrestler, an actor and an Estonian separatist. [2] He is a father of two. [3]

Contents

Criminal career

Soviet era

In 1979, aged twenty, he and Heiki Terras broke into a shooting club in Tallinn and stole 13 handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. [4] [2] Some saw the theft as a blow against the Soviet regime. [2] Arakas was quickly arrested and escaped from the courthouse on 18 April 1979, evading authorities by jumping from the Kohtuotsa viewing platform on Toompea hill. [2] He was arrested again after 87 days and sentenced to 15 years in jail, mostly in a high-security Russian facility. [2]

Post Soviet crime in Estonia

After release from prison he joined an Estonian organised crime gang and took part in a feud with Russian organised crime that killed over a hundred people. [2] Arakas was nearly killed on more than one occasion. [2]

Spain

He left Estonia for Spain in 1998. [2] A failed assassination attempt was made in Marbella and two Estonians were jailed for their part in it. [2]

After this he became a freelance professional killer who is suspected of being responsible for a number of murders across Europe. [2]

Ireland

He was employed by the Kinahan gang as part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud. [2] He was hired to kill James "Mago" Gately. [2] Arakas owed a lot of money and the €100,000 payment for murdering Gately would pay off a large amount of it. [2] Gardaí received intelligence that he was going to arrive in Ireland and put him under surveillance. [2] The assassination was prevented and in 2018, he was jailed for six years by the Special Criminal Court. [2] [5] [3] While in Mountjoy Prison he suffered a stroke. [5]

Charges in Lithuania

He is expected to be deported to Lithuania after release from prison where he faces murder charges. [6] He is a suspect in the murder of Deimantas Bugavičius, lover of Lithuanian pop star Vita Jakutienė, on 6 November 2015. [6] The victim was shot by a three-man gang. [6] In June 2020 he announced that he would challenge the extradition. He was deported to Lithuania in 2023 where he was being held on murder charges. [1] [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Neilan, Paul (15 June 2020). "Estonian Kinahan hitman will challenge extradition bid in October". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gallagher, Conor (13 December 2018). "'He is an unusual celebrity': Colourful career of Estonian hitman foiled by gardaí" . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Estonian hitman jailed by Special Criminal Court for six years". Irish Examiner . 12 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Man Rehabilitated Half-a-Century after Crimes during Soviet Occupation of Estonia". ERR. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  5. 1 2 Reynolds, Paul (12 December 2018). "'Contracted hitman' sentenced to six years for conspiracy to murder". RTÉ News . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Foy, Ken (13 November 2018). "Cartel hitman also wanted in Lithuania over gun death of pop star's lover". Irish Independent . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  7. ↑ O'Riordan, Alison (20 July 2020). "Bid to extradite Estonian hitman to Lithuania delayed". The Irish Times . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
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