Filenews 3 February 2023
They sold the bronze sculpture worth €10,000 for €85, as metal, according to Paphos ADE Spokesperson and Paphos ICF Manager Michalis Nikolaou.
Mr. Nikolaou said in his statements to journalists that in the case of the theft of the bronze statuette committed at dawn on 27.1.23, the value of which amounts to €10,000, three persons, aged 55, 37 and 24, have been arrested, who are in custody by a court order, which is valid until Monday, February 6.
He said two more people are wanted, a 43-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man, and are expected to be arrested.
As Mr. Nikolaou noted, on Thursday afternoon information was received that pieces of the statuette were located in a secluded area of Tremithousa with dense vegetation. The searches began on Thursday night, continued overnight and finally in the morning around 5am, the first piece was located.
A total of four pieces of the statuette have been identified and investigations are ongoing to identify the rest.
The case under investigation concerns, he continued, the offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft, malicious damage, because it has been established that the statuette has been destroyed, as well as the offense of theft.
As reported by the Head of the ICF Paphos, it seems that four of them had sold it to the 24-year-old for the price of €85 which refers to its value as a metal and not as a sculpture.
It then appears to have been picked up behind the others and the remaining pieces are being searched as only four pieces were found which is a part of the statuette, he concluded.
CNA
