Filenews 12 August 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
Three foreign residents of Paphos were arrested last night after an episodic chase that included warning shots being fired into the air by police officers.
The three, along with a fourth person, were riding a car that failed to stop at a police signal for inspection and now, after their arrest, its passengers are being prosecuted for possession of burglary tools, assault and causing real bodily harm, resistance to lawful arrest, obstruction of a police officer in the performance of his duty, reckless and dangerous driving, driving without a driver's license, safety and registration certificate and non-compliance with a police officer's signal.
The incident began to unfold in Chlorakas, when a car was considered suspicious by members of the Police, who were carrying out checks as part of the prevention of criminal acts in the area.
The driver of the vehicle, as soon as he became aware of the presence of members of the Police, tried to escape by driving recklessly and dangerously, with the members of the Police following the said vehicle, putting into operation the beacons of the service vehicles, calling the driver to stop for control, while in the attempt to stop the car, warning shots were also fired.
At some point, the driver of the vehicle lost control of the car and crashed into a vehicle, which was parked on the road, as a result of which it came to a standstill.
Examinations that followed revealed that the driver of the vehicle was a 21-year-old, with passengers in the back seats, two 19-year-olds, all of Syrian origin. A fourth person, who was as a co-driver in the car, managed to escape and is being sought.
During the immobilization of the vehicle, the driver tried to escape without, however, succeeding, as a result of which he was arrested for the self-inflicted offense of resisting a legal arrest, as well as for the traffic offenses he committed.
One of the two 19-year-olds, did not comply with the instructions of the members of the Police to undergo an investigation and was arrested for the self-inflicted offense of obstructing a police officer in the lawful performance of his duty.
In a subsequent search of the car, various tools that are believed to be used in cases of burglaries and thefts were identified and received as evidence.
A member of the Police, was injured in the attempt to arrest the driver and visited the Paphos Hospital, where it was found that he had an injury and redness of the finger on the left hand and after receiving first aid, he was discharged.
