Wednesday, March 1, 2023

CRIME ROUND UP

 Filenews 1 March 2023



A coordinated police - customs operation led to the seizure of tobacco products and a 58-year-old man was arrested.

In a statement, the Police Communication Branch says that "members of the Police, in cooperation with Customs Officers of the Larnaca Customs Office, conducted yesterday afternoon a coordinated operation, during which the following quantities of tobacco products were located and seized: 89 cartons of cigarettes (of various brands), 7.7 kg of tobacco, 4,760 pieces of electronic cigarettes, 800 grams of hookah tobacco".

It is noted that "the detection of the above quantity of tobacco products, was preceded on the old road Koshi - Aradippou, an arrest for control of a car, which was driven by a 58-year-old man".

It is reported that "in a subsequent search inside the 58-year-old's vehicle, part of the above quantity of tobacco products was found, while the rest was found in a paddock maintained by the above person, in a village in the Larnaca district".

The 58-year-old was arrested for the offence of possession of duty-free tobacco products, while the further investigation of the case was undertaken by the Larnaca Customs Office.

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Prison sentences on two accused friends were imposed yesterday by the Permanent Assize Court of Limassol after they were found guilty after an admission in a case of three kilograms of cannabis that were detected on January 9 following a coordinated operation by the Limassol YKAN. The Assize Court imposed a five-year sentence on the 40-year-old accused carrier for the offence of possession with intent to supply while on his 32-year-old friend and co-defendant, a sentence of three and a half years in the offence of supply. The role of the latter was to become a warehouseman for the sake of his friend due to the former's fear of not being detected by the authorities.

The 40-year-old accused drug user bought his dose from a certain person and went so far as to owe him several thousand euros. They received threats from the supplier and as a result they accepted and succumbed to transporting a quantity of drugs and would receive a fee of €500. As for the role of the 32-year-old, he agreed to help his friend and store the amount of drugs for a few hours without any benefit and to return it later.

The 20-year-old student, who was convicted yesterday by the Limassol Assize Court in a case of two kilograms of cannabis and a small amount of cocaine, will be in prison for the next three and a half years. He was found guilty after admitting to the offences of possession of a quantity of cocaine, possession with intent to supply and illegal use of drugs.

According to the facts, the 20-year-old student acted as a carrier of drugs against some grams of cocaine but also to pay off a debt of €500 which he owed to his supplier.

The 20-year-old was arrested on 16/11/2022 after a coordinated operation by the YKAN following information that he would receive a large amount of drugs from Muttayaka.

On the same day he was placed under discreet surveillance and the members of the YKAN stopped him for inspection in the area of Agia Fyla. He initially stopped but then developed speed to escape, resulting in members of the Police following him. The 20-year-old threw a package of cannabis from the vehicle while the chase continued inside a residential area. The young man's vehicle crashed into a residential wall and a tree while in his attempt to escape he hit two service vehicles resulting in immobilization.

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A fine of up to €850 is required to be paid by the teacher, who was convicted yesterday by the Limassol Court on charges of causing actual bodily harm and specifically assaulting a 10-year-old student while she was giving a lesson.

The case was brought to light by the newspaper "F" with the accused teacher being found guilty last week in the one and only charge she was facing. Yesterday's procedure was set for speeches to mitigate the sentence and then the Court imposed the sentence. Specifically, the Judge, Marilena Theoklitou, imposed on the defendant a fine of €850 on the charge of causing actual bodily harm as well as €420 court costs.

Speaking about the mitigation of the sentence, the teacher's defence lawyer, Marina Lavithia, said that a long period of time, more than five years, had elapsed since the incident. She noted that there was a form of extrajudicial punishment while the teacher was very anxious about the outcome of the case over the years. She also said she has a clean criminal record and stressed the impact a prison sentence would have on her career.

The incident occurred in February 2018 at a public primary school in western Limassol while the case began to be tried in October 2022 with the defendant not admitting any charges. The teacher, thinking that the 10-year-old had asked a classmate to move during the lesson, pulled his chair, causing him to fall to the ground.  She then threw the chair into the classroom and then began to pull the student by the arm, dragging him, to get him out of the classroom  It should be noted that after the incident the student was transferred to the First Aid of Limassol Hospital where it was found that he had mild pain on the right sides, abrasions on the right shoulder and arm and three abrasions on the lower part of his left hand.

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A 1.5-year prison sentence was imposed yesterday by the Permanent Assize Court sitting in Larnaca on a 40-year-old man after finding him guilty in a case involving 49 migrants and providing assistance to a prohibited migrants to enter the Republic.

According to an announcement by the Police, the 40-year-old was arrested on September 1, 2022, after the arrival of 49 migrants by sea boat, in the sea area of Famagusta district. From the examinations carried out, it was found that the 40-year-old was the operator of the boat.