Cyprus Mail 19 June 2023
A man has been fined €2,800 after attempting to smuggle cigarettes and tobacco from the north in the engine of his car.
The tobacco products were found by police as the man attempted to cross southwards at the Astromeritis crossing point and included 34 boxes of 200-packs of cigarettes, over two kilogrammes of tobacco for roll-up cigarettes, and 340 e-cigarettes.
The man was arrested and ordered to pay a €2,800 fine, while both the tobacco products and his car were seized.
Police say that this was one of five cases in which they have seized tobacco products from individuals in the space of two weeks from May 31 to June 14.
On May 31, police in Limassol seized over 70kgs of hookah tobacco from a series of cafes, bars and hotels in the district, for which no customs duty had been paid.
On June 3, police found 4,660 cigarettes and 700 grammes of tobacco for roll-up cigarettes which bore no customs markings in a residential property in Nicosia. The owner of the property was arrested and ordered to pay a €1,800 fine.
The following day, police in Paphos found 58 boxes of 200-packs of cigarettes, 54 packets of tobacco for roll-up cigarettes, and 1,600 e-cigarettes during a routine stop of a private car.
They determined that the products had been imported illegally as they did not bear health warnings in both Greek and Turkish as is the standard for tobacco products in the Republic of Cyprus. The driver of the car admitted that he had bought the products in the north and received a €7,500 fine.
On June 10, police in Limassol found 15 boxes of 200-packs of cigarettes and 2,800 e-cigarettes during a routine stop of a private car.
As in the previous case in Paphos, they noticed a lack of bilingual health warnings on the packets, and the driver of the car admitted to having purchased all the products in the north. As a result, he was fined €3,000 and his car was seized.
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Police announced on Monday the arrest of a third person in connection with the forgery and supply of false permanent residency documents.
A 27-year-old man was arrested on Sunday night and remains in custody in the latest part of an investigation which began in March.
The detention comes after a 65-year-old Syrian man and a 41-year-old Greek Cypriot woman were arrested and taken into custody earlier on Sunday. The pair are expected to be brought before Nicosia District Court on Monday.
The weekend’s arrests bring the total number of arrests for this case to ten, as last Friday police proceeded to arrest another seven people, who were remanded for eight days.
The charges under investigation are conspiracy to commit a felony, conspiracy to extort, forgery, circulation of forged documents and obtaining registration by false representation, as well as offences of corruption, defrauding a public official, abuse of power and neglect of official duty.
On March 20 the director of the Limassol citizens service centre reported that between December 8, 2022 and March 3, as many as 20 applications to obtain driving licences appeared suspicious.
Upon further investigation, carried out by the Alien and Immigration Service, it emerged that all 20 applicants presented fake permanent residency permits (MEU2).
Arrest warrants were issued for all. For the same case, a 58-year-old owner of a service office had been arrested and detained.
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Three men in Paphos pled not guilty to charges of illegal possession of explosives on Monday after being found in possession of more than 96,000 firecrackers in March.
According to police at the time, they received a tip off and intercepted the three men while they were unloading boxes from two cars.
The men, aged 34, 31, and 23, were arrested, and police found a shoulder bag containing €3,000 in cash belonging to the 34-year-old.
Police confirmed that the 96,000 firecrackers were “industrial grade”.
The men appeared at the Paphos criminal court on Monday and pleaded not guilty. Their trial will begin on July 20.
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Filenews 20 June 2023
Two people, aged 31 and 38, were arrested in Larnaca for facilitating police investigations into an ongoing case involving possession of burglary tools during the night, illegal possession of property, possession of an offensive instrument and illegal possession of drugs.
In an announcement by the Communication Branch of the Police Headquarters, it is stated that "at around 3.30 in the morning on Monday, June 19, members of the Larnaca OPE, during a motorized patrol in Larnaca, intercepted for inspection a vehicle driven by a 31-year-old man, with a 38-year-old co-driver."
In a subsequent search, the 31-year-old was found in possession of a traffic light, an iron cutter, two screwdrivers, a hood and a bag of cannabis. A search of the vehicle also found, among other things, a television and a quantity of keys.
The two persons "were arrested for flagrant offences, and then re-arrested on judicial arrest warrants. The 31-year-old is allegedly involved in a case of residential burglary and theft committed on May 20 in the district of Larnaka and the 38-year-old in a case of residential burglary and theft committed on June 3, also in the district of Larnaca.
The ICF of Larnaka and the Oroklini Police Station continue the examinations.
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Handcuffs to a 58-year-old man who allegedly shot and wounded his 40-year-old neighbour's dog.
Around 3pm yesterday, while a 40-year-oldman was at his home in the Paphos district, he heard a gunshot, while leaving the house he found that his dog, which was in the yard, was injured.
The 40-year-old took his dog to a private clinic, where he was found to have injuries to his right front leg and was detained for treatment.
To facilitate investigations into the above investigated case, a 58-year-old man was arrested this morning with a court warrant and detained.
ICF Pafos continues exams
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Pafos Live
Another double-cab vehicle was stolen in the morning, this time in Tsada. Recently, more than ten similar vehicles have been stolen in the Pafos district.
A few were found intact. Most, however, either went up in flames or were looted. Police are urging owners of all vehicles to take steps to keep them safe.
