Filenews 9 March 2023
A 27-year-old man was arrested by police in Paphos on suspicion of involvement in one of the two armed robberies of kiosks in Chloraka in the early hours of Wednesday. The suspect is alleged to be one of the two people who entered the kiosk on the coastal Chlorakas Avenue, holding clubs, while a third person was waiting for them in a car in which they fled.
Investigations are ongoing to find the others involved in the robberies, as well as the money.
Two armed robberies in kiosks were carried out in the early hours of yesterday in the area of Chlorakas. In both cases, people of African descent appear to be involved, and the exact amounts that the robbers under threat of weapons or dangerous objects extracted from the operations have not yet been finalized.
In the first case, a masked man of African origin entered at 3.00am at a 24-hour service kiosk on the central Makarios Avenue of Chlorakas while only one female employee was in it. The robber, as the clerk then testified to the police, had a pistol in his belt which he showed her by entering the store and making it a point for her to move away from the cash register.
The perpetrator took the money from the cashier and departed on foot in an unknown direction.
About half an hour later, another employee of a 24-hour service kiosk on the Chlorakas beach front informed of a similar action. As she said, two people who had their heads covered with the hoods of the hoodies they were wearing entered the kiosk holding clubs and brandishing them threatening her, immobilized her and after taking the proceeds from the cash register they escaped in a vehicle that had been parked outside the business. The official said at least one of them was of African descent.
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A 42-year-old man was handcuffed on Wednesday by members of the Limassol OPE, as he allegedly attacked them with a knife when they tried to check on him.
According to the ICF Limassol, the incident occurred around 10:40 yesterday morning, when members of the Police, as part of a patrol to prevent burglaries and thefts, spotted a pedestrian moving suspiciously.
In their attempt to investigate him, he retrieved a knife, with which he attacked the members of the Police and at the same time fled. He was chased and at one point caused damage, with the knife, to the front tire of a police vehicle. The suspect tried to escape arrest, but the members of OPE Limassol managed to immobilize him.
From a subsequent investigation, in a bag he carried, an axe was found in his possession, which was received as evidence along with the knife.
He was taken to the detention facilities of the Limassol ADE and examinations revealed that he was a 42-year-old man.
It is noted that during the incident, no member of the Police was injured.
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A 23-year-old youth was arrested in Larnaca on suspicion of burglary and theft of property and vehicles.
According to an announcement by the Communication Branch of the Police Headquarters "around 3.45 in the afternoon of Wednesday, March 8, a citizen contacted the Police, who reported that an unknown person who was at that time in a store in Larnaca, was in possession of a bag that the citizen identified as his bag that had been stolen on February 21".
Members of the Police went to the scene "where the complainant pointed them to the suspicious person, a 23-year-old man, whom they subjected to inspection. Along with the bag that is alleged to be the bag that was stolen, in the possession of the 23-year-old, members of the Police also located two bank cards bearing the name of the owner of the bag."
It is noted that "in the possession of the suspect were found another 7 bank cards, in the name of seven other persons, two Cypriot identity cards, in the name of two other persons, four mobile phones, and a number of watches and jewellery items and other objects, which are being investigated to see if they are also stolen property".
The 23-year-old was taken into custody and the case is being investigated by the central Larnaca Police Station.
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Pafos Live 9 March
A car stolen from Paphos was spotted in Limassol last night. The perpetrators are a Georgian and a Syrian.
One of the two perpetrators was linked to other cases of burglaries and thefts in Paphos.
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The observation of a police officer, who was off duty, as well as the immediate actions of the Police, led to the arrest of a 35-year-old man, against whom a judicial arrest warrant was pending, to facilitate the investigations into two cases of burglaries and thefts, committed in Limassol, between the dates of 24 February and 3 March 2023.
After the 35-year-old's arrest, four more cases of car thefts appear to be being investigated. Specifically, around 11.30a.m. Yesterday, a police officer, who was off duty, located and identified the 35-year-old wanted man, who was riding in a car, driven by another person, on the road from Platres to Limassol. It was found that the vehicle in which the 35-year-old was riding, had been reported as stolen, on March 2, 2023, at a Police Station in Limassol. Following the relevant notification by the member of the Police, police patrols were immediately mobilized, which went to the area in question.
After the specific vehicle was located, a signal was made to the driver to stop for control, however he developed speed and tried to escape. Officers followed the suspect vehicle. In the attempt of the driver of the suspicious vehicle to escape, he also collided with a police vehicle causing damage. The driver continued his course, until he lost control of the vehicle, as a result of which he crashed into a dirt embankment and came to a standstill. The two suspects exited the vehicle and tried to escape by running.
They were followed by the police, who stopped the 35-year-old, while the driver managed to escape. This was followed by a search of the car in which the two suspects were riding, where various tools and copper tubes were found, for which the 35-year-old did not give a satisfactory explanation of how they were found in their possession. Interrogated, the 35-year-old allegedly indicated to the police two areas, where two cars that had been reported stolen were hidden, on March 2, 2023, in Limassol. In the area where one of the two vehicles was located, an electric generator was also found, which seems to have been stolen during the burglary of a building, committed between the dates of February 24 and March 2, 2023, in Limassol. During the interrogations, the 35-year-old allegedly also admitted to committing another car theft case, which had been reported in Limassol, on February 22, 2023.
The 35-year-old was arrested under the court warrants pending against him and taken into custody to facilitate interrogations.
