Filenews 2 November 2023
A man from Queensland, Australia, who allegedly sexually abused a child in Protaras, faces 25 years in prison in his home country.
According to a statement from Queensland Police, the suspect appeared at Brisbane Crown Court on Monday, October 30.
His whereabouts were made possible after an investigation by the Cyprus police, who responded to a report from a member of the public who said they saw the man molesting a child on a deserted beach in Protaras.
Following further investigations, Cypriot police identified the suspect as an Australian travelling to Cyprus and immediately alerted an Australian Federal Police (AFP) team to the embassy in Beirut.
A search warrant was then executed at the man's residence on October 21, 2023, which led to the seizure of clothing believed to link the man to the alleged offence.
AFP inspector Sascha Austin stressed AFP's dedication to investigating and prosecuting perpetrators involved in child sexual abuse cases.
"The immediate response of AFP Beirut Post and the willingness of investigators to proceed based on the information provided by the Cypriot police proves that international police cooperation can save lives and lives of vulnerable people, such as children, and bring perpetrators to justice," he said.
On behalf of the Cyprus Police, the Assistant Director of the Crime Fighting Department, Superintendent B Kyriaki Lambrianidou said that local authorities remain committed to investigating such heinous crimes, regardless of the origin of the perpetrator or victim.
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Filenews 3 November
The information received a few days ago by YKAN was confirmed, which wanted a 37-year-old man to be involved in the trade and trafficking of large quantities of cannabis, which he concealed in his family home and at his home. The 37-year-old was placed under surveillance and on Wednesday afternoon he made the mistake of going to an area of Limassol to collect a quantity of six kilos of cannabis after receiving instructions from another person.
The 37-year-old was brought before the Limassol district court yesterday for a request for detention. The Court approved the request of the YKAN investigators and ordered the detention of the suspect for a period of 8 days. For his part, his lawyer, Alexandros Saouris, did not object to his client's detention. The suspect is expected to receive an investigative statement, but verbally stated that he received the drugs on the instructions of another person.
According to "F", the suspect left on Wednesday afternoon from premises located in Limassol and headed with his vehicle to the motorway. At some point, towards the exit of the village of Sotiras, he stopped on a dirt road and after getting off, he went on foot next to a sign that read "fire danger" where he had placed on the ground, in a garbage bag, the quantity of six kilos of cannabis.
The 37-year-old did not realize that he was being watched by the members of the YKAN and after receiving the drugs, wearing gloves, he placed them in the luggage compartment of his vehicle and after entering it he started to leave. In his attempt to escape, he crashed his vehicle into an official car and came to a standstill. Immediately the members of the Police restrained him and arrested him for a flagrant offense after allegedly resisting arrest.
In a subsequent search, a garbage bag was found in the luggage compartment containing 10 packages containing cannabis weighing a total of 5 kg and 961 grams. The 37-year-old was also found in possession of €20,000 and two mobile phones which were taken as evidence.
A search of his home followed where 600 grams of cannabis was found, while in the other three vehicles of the 37-year-old, a large number of jewellery, silverware, a computer, an air pistol, eight fireworks, four devices for launching harmful gases, a large number of watches and other objects were found.
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A female police officer serving at a Limassol Police Station has been suspended from the very first moment.
The information that reached the hands of the Police regarding substance use by this member seems to have been confirmed last Tuesday night (31/10). As philenews is aware, lately there have been reports that wanted the police officer to use substances.
On Tuesday night, a roadblock was set up by team Z of the Limassol Traffic Police at a specific point where his colleague was stopped. The latter was asked to undergo a narcotest test which had a positive indication of cannabis use. According to philenews, the policewoman was on her way to the Police Station where she works to get to work. Following this development, the leadership of the Police suspended the police officer until the investigation of the case was completed.
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Cyprus Mail 3 November
Police in Paphos on Thursday arrested a 39-year-old man after the theft of electrical construction machinery.
According to the police, the theft was reported on October 23 by the 55-year-old owner of a construction company. He man claimed various building materials and tools of value were stolen from an open area where they were stored.
Police investigations brought up testimony against the 39-year-old, a resident of a village in Paphos.
An warrant was issued against him and he was arrested on Thursday afternoon.
