Imre Arakas

Imre Arakas, also known as the butcher, is an Estonian criminal.[1] He has also been a wrestler, an actor and an Estonian separatist.[1] He is a father of two.[2]

Imre Arakas
NationalityEstonia
Criminal statusin prison
Criminal chargeconspiracy to murder
Penaltysix years

Criminal career

Soviet era

In the 1980s he and a friend broke into a shooting club in Tallinn and stole 13 handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.[1] Some saw the theft as a blow against the Soviet regieme.[1] Arakas was quickly arrested and escaped from the courthouse by jumping from a balcony.[1] He was arrested again after 87 days and sentenced to 15 years in jail, mostly in a high-security Russian facility.[1]

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.[1] Arakas was nearly killed on more than one occasion.[1]

Spain

He left Estonia for Spain in 1998.[1] A failed assassination attempt was made in Marbella and two Estonians were jailed for their part in it.[1]

After this he became a freelance professional killer who is suspected of being responsible for a number of murders across Europe.[1]

Ireland

He was employed by the Kinahan gang as part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud.[1] He was hired to kill James "Mago" Gately.[1] Arakas owed a lot of money and the €100,000 payment for murdering Gately would pay off a large amount of it.[1] Gardaí received intelligence that he was going to arrive in Ireland and put him under survillance.[1] The assassination was prevented and he was jailed for six years by the Special Criminal Court.[1][3][2] While in Mountjoy Prison he suffered a stroke.[3]

Charges in Lithuania

He is expected to be deported to Lithuania after release from prison where he faces murder charges.[4] He is a suspect in the murder of Deimantas Bugavicius, lover of Lituanian pop star Vita Jakutiene, on 6 November 2015.[4] The victim was shot by a three-man gang.[4] In June 2020 he announced that he would challenge the extradition.[5][6]

References
  1. Gallagher, Conor (13 December 2018). "'He is an unusual celebrity': Colourful career of Estonian hitman foiled by gardaí". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. "Estonian hitman jailed by Special Criminal Court for six years". Irish Examiner. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. Reynolds, Paul (12 December 2018). "'Contracted hitman' sentenced to six years for conspiracy to murder". RTÉ News. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. 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.
  5. Neilan, Paul (15 June 2020). "Estonian Kinahan hitman will challenge extradition bid in October". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. 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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