Imre Arakas is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence handed down by a Lithuanian court last January for a contract killing. The court found Arakas guilty of murdering Lithuanian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Remigijus Morkevičius in December 2016 and the attempted murder of Gija Zabatšidze in July 2016.

Before that, Arakas served a six-year prison sentence in Ireland for conspiring to murder James Gately, a well-known figure in the local criminal underworld. According to the investigation, Gately’s rivals hired Arakas to kill him, offering a five-figure sum in euros as payment.

A selection of acts Imre Arakas was charged with in the ESSR court

1977

On the night of August 25, together with Heiki Teras, he broke into the boat slip of the Tallinn lifeboat station of the ESSR Life Saving Society and stole an inflatable motorboat.

On the night of September 20, together with Heiki Teras, he stole a Vihr boat engine from the Dynamo sports complex’s canoe base.

On September 30, he decided to travel abroad with Heiki Teras without a passport or permission from the relevant authorities. The escape attempt failed due to engine failure and because wind and waves brought the boat back to shore on the morning of October 1.

On the night of October 14, together with Heiki Teras and Lembit P., he broke into the premises of the Tallinn Conservatory and stole two stereo tape recorders with speakers. They then broke into the premises of the Tallinn Music School, located in the same building, and stole a stereo tape recorder with speakers.

On the night of October 31, together with Lembit P., he broke into the premises of Tallinn’s 46th Secondary School and stole two tape recorders, microphones, magnetic tapes, dictionaries, and slide frames.

1978

On April 18, he escaped from custody.

On the night of September 21, together with Heiki Teras, he stole a Vihr-M boat engine from the Kalev Yacht Club harbor.

On the night of October 3, together with Heiki Teras, he stole a leather uniform jacket, ten indicator tubes, and road maps from a traffic police car. From the same car, he also stole a leather briefcase belonging to Paavo P.

On the night of October 9, together with Heiki Teras, he broke into the Dynamo archery stadium building and stole a quiver, a chest guard, a bow, and a Dynamo flag.

On October 13, he forced his way into the Estonian Television building in Tallinn, threatened the guard with a pistol, and demanded that he hand over his weapon.

On the night of November 9, together with Heiki Teras, he stole two boat engines from the Tartu Lifeboat Station harbor.

1979

On February 27, together with Heiki Teras and Aivar Kalvik, he forced his way into the premises of the Dynamo shooting range in Tallinn, threatened the warehouse keeper with a pistol, hit him on the head with the pistol butt, and demanded the keys to the weapons storage. They then stole 13 pistols and 1,248 cartridges from the storage.

On the night of June 17, he stole two umbrellas from a passenger car.