Filenews 16 February 2023
Two people, aged 37 and 32, were detained in Paphos for illegal possession of property believed to be the product of burglaries and thefts. The property was found in a storage area of an apartment building, in which one of the two arrested was found to be hiding.
The Police were led to investigate the case today at dawn, said the spokesman of the Paphos Directorate, Michalis Nikolaou, after information that a certain 37-year-old person living in an apartment building is in possession of stolen property which he keeps in a warehouse on the ground floor of the said apartment building.
After the apartment building was placed under surveillance by the Police, at two o'clock in the morning the 37-year-old was seen leaving the said warehouse. A body search found a small amount of cannabis as well as a knife of a forbidden type.
The 37-year-old was initially arrested for the offences of illegal possession of drugs and stabbing, while the keys to the warehouse were found in his possession and with his consent the site was searched. Another 32-year-old person was found inside the warehouse, as well as items of property believed to have been acquired illegally and is stolen.
Specifically, a quantity of copper cables, two car catalysts, a number of electric building tools, lighting fixtures, two new speakers and various other objects were found. The 32-year-old was subsequently arrested and taken into custody.
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Handcuffs to a Greek Cypriot were passed this morning by the Police, in connection with the case of attempted kidnapping of a 12-year-old schoolgirl, who was waiting at the bus stop in Deryneia. This is a 32-year-old man, who under interrogation allegedly admitted to being involved in the case.
Specifically, after a coordinated operation, members of the Famagusta ICF spotted this morning a vehicle moving on a road in the Famagusta district, the description of which seems to correspond to the vehicle involved in the case.
The members of the Police stopped the vehicle that was being driven by the man and drove him to the offices of the Famagusta ICF, where the interrogator allegedly admitted to being involved in the case and made some allegations which are being investigated.
It is recalled that, according to the complaint of the girl's mother, as the 12-year-old schoolgirl was waiting at the bus stop last Tuesday in Deryneia, a vehicle stopped at the spot, in which the 32-year-old was riding, who spoke English and asked the girl to get into his vehicle.
At that moment, two teachers passed by the spot, who stopped to see what was happening. At the sight of the teachers the man left the scene.
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A 48-year-old man was taken into custody as he refused to give his details to a police check for vehicle fuel and tried to escape.
According to the Spokesperson of the Paphos ADE and Head of the Paphos ICF Michalis Nikolaou on 15.2.23 at 22:40 members of the Paphos traffic police in cooperation with officers of the Customs Department carried out checks on the Pegeia - Agios Georgios Peyias road for vehicle fuel control purposes.
At some stage they stopped a truck that was found to be driven by a 48-year-old man from Limassol and after a check was carried out it was found that instead of diesel he was using heating oil in his truck.
He was instructed to park his vehicle at a certain point, however he allegedly refused and left the place. The members of the Paphos ADE followed him and stopped him nearby.
Initially the 48-year-old refused to give his details and was arrested. He was then taken to the central police station of Paphos and his details were found. The Customs Department in cooperation with the Paphos Traffic Police are investigating the case.
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A 22-year-old man, who was arrested for violence in the stadiums in yesterday's match between Omonia and APOEL at GSP, is presented to the District Court of Nicosia today.
According to a police statement, during yesterday's football match, the 22-year-old was seen by a security guard of the stadium throwing an object towards the fourth referee of the match which hit him on the head but did not injure him, while he was heading to the locker room.
The person in question was taken by the security guards to the Police office where he made a statement in which he allegedly pleaded guilty. He is a 22-year-old from the Limassol district.
The 22-year-old was given a bail so that this morning he could appear before the Nicosia District Court where the case will be registered.
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The Permanent Assize Court of Limassol imposed heavy prison sentences yesterday on four defendants whom it found guilty after a long court proceedings that lasted more than two years in a case of possession and possession with a view to supplying a quantity of 510 grams of cocaine.
The Assize Court sentenced the 44-year-old to eight years, the 29-year-old and 41-year-old 10 years in prison and the 40-year-old seven years. The case was brought to the attention of YKAN Limassol in April 2020 following information that the 44-year-old would receive a large amount of cocaine and meet with his associates, in an open space in the area of Agios Athanasios, in order to store and distribute the amount of cocaine.
Members of the YKAN arrived at the place, crouched to the ground and watched whilst the accused processed the amount of cocaine. A raid ensued and the accused fled, but the two of them were stopped nearby. In an attempt to escape, the 29-year-old threw half a kilogram of cocaine on the ground. Also, a sum of €435 was found in his possession, while after a search of his car, which was parked in the area, the amount of €2,375 was located and confiscated. This was followed by examinations by the investigators of YKAN Limassol where the 41-year-old and the 40-year-old who were accomplices were arrested.
Three of the four defendants did not admit to the serious charges they faced unlike the 40-year-old. Yesterday the four were sentenced to prison for the offences of possession and possession with intent to supply to other persons. It should be noted that one of the defendants, the 44-year-old, was free with a wristband all this time, while a specific procedure was conducted at the request of his lawyer, Giannis Polychronis, due to serious health problems he faces.
As far as the sentenced person is concerned to seven years, the execution of the sentence starts from the day of his arrest, on 25/4/2020, while for the 44-year-old the court did not count in the sentence, the time he was free with a wristband, with the sentence of eight years counting from the day he was found guilty, on 5/10/2022.
The defendants were represented by the lawyers, Giannis Polychronis, Vassilis Dimitriadis, Michalis Neolaios and Alexandros Saouris, while the case was handled on behalf of the Legal Service, the lawyer of the Republic A' Mrs. Christos Kythraiotou.
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The arrest of a 22-year-old man, who was wanted in connection with a case of murder of a 21-year-old Syrian on February 5 in the area of Agios Antonios in Nicosia, the Police announced.
A 22-year-old man, who was wanted in connection with an ongoing murder case committed on February 5, 2022, was located late last night and arrested on the basis of a court warrant pending against him, a statement issued by the Police said.
The arrested man was detained and is expected to be brought before the Nicosia District Court this morning.
The ICF Nicosia continues the examinations.
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The conviction of a 57-year-old defendant in one of the most serious cases of sexual abuse of minors that have preoccupied public opinion and Cypriot justice is characterized as a provocative sentence. The 57-year-old was convicted by the Permanent Assize Court of Limassol on a number of charges related to the Law on Preventing and Combating Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Child Pornography. The longest sentence imposed on him is five and a half years for the offence of sexually abusing a child under the age of 13 or abusing the child's vulnerability due to an intellectual disability.
The case was concluded yesterday in a closed-door procedure, where he was given a sentence. After the conviction, there was a reversal as the 42-year-old mother of the underage girls and partner of the 57-year-old, changed her response and admitted to the serious charges she faces.
The horrific acts committed by the two defendants against the minors are appalling and horrifying. What the three underage girls nine, 11 and 12 years old respectively were experiencing in their homes, does not fit a human mind as they are sexually abused by their own mother, who wanted to satisfy her friend's sick appetites. The horrific case of abuse was reported to the authorities in September 2021 by a close relative of the victims who became aware of various messages involving sexual conversations with the minors.
One of the minors in her videotaped testimony said that the defendant entered through the window of the house, into her room, in one case, and performed certain sexual acts against her. The same person also said the 57-year-old in another case, forced her to witness sexual acts with him and her mother.
The defendant's reprehensible acts, however, did not stay that way. Through messages on a specific application, he incited the girlfriend and mother of the victims to engage in sexual acts with her underage daughters, to record them on video and photos, and to promote them. In fact, from the witness material of the messages, the defendant described in detail the pornographic material he was looking for and told the defendant that he would use it to satisfy himself sexually.
The Permanent Assize Court in closed-door proceedings yesterday imposed on the 57-year-old several concurrent prison sentences with the longest of five and a half years on two counts of sexual abuse of a child under 13. Four of the defendant's eight crimes involved the 11-year-old who is a child with an intellectual disability and whom the 57-year-old had threatened not to speak to. The minor, however, had confided in her older sister who, in order to protect herself, locked her room when she slept.
The defendant was represented by lawyer Alexandros Clerides.
