Pafos Live 12 January 2024
Police have arrested two persons, a 24-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, suspected in connection with four robbery cases committed in the last three days in the Nicosia district. The two suspects were taken into custody, with the Klirou and Lakatamia Police Stations investigating.
These are four cases of robbery allegedly committed in a shop in the village of Arediou, at noon last Tuesday, at two kiosks in the villages of Psimolofou and Ergates, shortly before noon last Wednesday and at a kiosk in the area of Anthoupoli, in Lakatamia, shortly before noon on Thursday.
According to the evidence under investigation, a suspicious woman entered the first three premises, where, at knifepoint, she stole money from the cash register of the two premises, while from the third premises she fled, after the employee of the premises refused to give her the money.
The fourth robbery was allegedly committed at gunpoint after a suspicious woman who entered the premises allegedly demanded that the employee hand over the cashier money to her, claiming as a threat that she was in possession of a gun, in a bag she put on the counter of the cashier.
The examinations carried out by members of the Klirou and Lakatamia Police Stations, in cooperation with members of the Burglary Unit of the ICF of Nicosia, revealed evidence against the 24-year-old suspect, as well as against the 28-year-old suspect. Judicial arrest warrants were issued against them, under which they were arrested shortly after 2.30pm on Thursday.
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Prison sentences were handed down today by the Larnaca District Court to two men aged 22 and 23, who were found guilty following a trial of cases related to offences committed during the arrival of a number of irregular migrants, on two sea boats, in the Famagusta area, in October 2023.
Specifically, the District Court imposed a prison sentence of two and a half years on the above, for the offence of transporting a person by water in an unsafe or overloaded boat.
The two cases concerned the arrival by two sea boats in an area of free Famagusta, on the afternoon of October 28, 2023, of a number of irregular migrants. On the first boat were 51 irregular migrants, including the 22-year-old, while on the second boat were 23 irregular migrants, including the 23-year-old.
According to testimonies obtained later, the 22-year-old and 23-year-old were the navigators of the two sea vessels separately. They were arrested by members of the Police, pursuant to court warrants.
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Pafos Press
Members of the Paphos Traffic Police carried out a coordinated operation from 06:00 on January 11th until 06:00 today, Friday, with the aim of preventing traffic collisions, in the context of which 74 complaints were made.
According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations Michalis Nikolaou, out of the 74 complaints, 32 related to driving at excessive speed, one driver was driving under the influence of alcohol, while the rest of the complaints concern other traffic violations.
The coordinated operations of the Police to prevent traffic collisions will continue at a later stage.
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The 39-year-old man who was arrested for the investigated case of setting fire to the Christmas Tree of the Municipality of Paphos will remain in custody.
According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations Michalis Nikolaou, the 39-year-old, who was arrested on January 6, 2024, was charged on Wednesday before the Paphos District Court and yesterday Thursday he was presented again to the Court, which set the case for January 24 and ordered that he remain in custody until the trial of the case.
The fire in the tree had occurred around 3.15 in the morning last Wednesday, January 03. The Christmas Tree was completely destroyed by the fire, which was extinguished by members of the Fire Service.
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The Police in Paphos proceeded to the arrest of a 39-year-old woman on Thursday in order to facilitate the investigations for an investigated case of vehicle theft on Wednesday night.
According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations Michalis Nikolaou, a 40-year-old man reported that on January 10 around 9:30 p.m. his residence in Geroskipou was broken into, the car key was stolen and then his car was also stolen, which was parked outside the house.
Members of the TAE Paphos who went to the scene, Mr Nicolaou told KYPE, found that there was a door breach with physical violence.
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The Police arrested two persons on Thursday to facilitate investigations into two investigated cases of illegal employment and illegal employment in Paphos, while two other persons were accused in writing for the same cases.
According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations, Michalis Nikolaou, on Thursday morning members of the Paphos Aliens and Immigration Service (YAM) went to a cafe in Paphos and found a man working. During the inspection, it was found that this is a 30-year-old man who is in Cyprus with a student permit and was practicing the profession without a relevant permit.
The 30 year old was arrested for the spontaneous offence of illegal employment, while the owner of the cafe was charged in writing and released to be summoned later, Mr Nikolaou told KYPE.
Moreover, in a second case on the same day, members of the YAM went to a construction site in the area of Agia Varvara to investigate information that illegal foreigners were working. In a check that they carried out, they found a 36-year-old person working, although it appeared that he does not have a residence permit, nor an employment permit.
The 36 year old was arrested while the 61 year old owner was charged in writing and released to be summoned to court at a later date.
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The amount of money of €46,440 was collected between the dates 5-11/1/24 by the Police in the context of an operation to execute warrants which were pending throughout the district of Paphos.
According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations, Michalis Nikolaou, a total of 243 outstanding warrants were executed in the district of Paphos and the sum of €46,440 was collected.
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A 16-year-old minor was found to be in possession of narcotics in Paphos as part of a traffic stop on the vehicle he was riding in forty-five minutes after midnight.
According to Paphos Assistant Police Director of Operations Michalis Nikolaou, on January 12, 2024 at 00:45, members of the Paphos Crime Prevention Ulam stopped for a check in the Moutalou area a car that was moving suspiciously and was driven by a 20-year-old man with a 16-year-old passenger, both permanent residents of Cyprus.
During the investigation of the minor, a metal shard containing traces of cannabis was found.
He was subsequently arrested for an unprovoked crime and taken to the Ykan Offices - Klimakio Paphos while his father was also called to the Police.
Subsequently, due to his age as a minor, the 16-year-old was released, while his case file is expected to be examined by the Legal Service for the further handling of the case.
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Filenews
The arrest of a 23-year-old man, in whose possession a number of fireworks, including four naval flares, were found last night, members of the Limassol Police. The 23-year-old is being investigated for illegal possession and transport of explosives.
Specifically, at around 10.30 pm on Thursday, members of the Limassol Crime Prevention Unit, during a patrol, checked four persons who were inside a car, which was stopped on a road in Limassol. During the search, the 23-year-old, who was in the passenger seat, was found in possession of a bag containing four naval flares, two sparklers and a firecracker.
Members of the Police proceeded to arrest the 23-year-old for flagrant offenses, while they also searched his residence, where 17 more hand sparklers were found. He was taken into custody for the purpose of investigating the case.
The case is being investigated by the Agios Ioannis Police Station.
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An African asylum seeker who was arrested for sexually abusing an 80-year-old tourist in Ayia Napa has been indicted in a direct trial before the Famagusta Permanent Assize Court in Paralimni, which will meet on January 19.
The defendant had stated that he was 17 years old and lived in a juvenile facility. Scientific tests carried out, however, showed, according to police sources, that his age ranges between 21 and 23 years. The indictment against him is very serious since he faces offences of sexual abuse by penetration, coercion to commit intercourse, abduction, kidnapping and indecent assault. The defendant had been arrested on December 14 following a complaint by the 80-year-old, who was on holiday in Ayia Napa. According to what she reported to the police, around 3:30 in the afternoon of the same day, as she returned from the sea on foot, she realized that an unknown man was following her. She said at one point, outside the hotel area closed for winter, the man grabbed her, threw her to the ground, immobilized her and sexually assaulted her.
After the woman's complaint, members of the Famagusta ICF began investigating the incident by seeking testimonies from closed-circuit surveillance systems in the area. In one of them, a man was spotted following the elderly woman, who was later identified and arrested the young African, who was staying in a hotel rented by the state for unaccompanied minors.
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The tangle behind the mysterious injury of the 45-year-old woman from Ukraine, who has been hospitalized since Wednesday night (10/1) in a private hospital clinically dead, is called to unravel the investigators of the ICF of Limassol.
From the testimonies and evidence collected so far, no firm conclusions have been drawn and no evidence has emerged to suggest criminal activity.
The investigators of the ICF Limassol are called to ascertain the circumstances under which the injury, hematoma and fracture on the right side of the 45-year-old's head were caused, without, for the time being, ruling out any possibility. The scenarios that have been put under the microscope of thorough investigations, are that the 45-year-old was injured by a fall on the ground or had an accident, while it is not excluded that someone hit her on the head. The 45-year-old Ukrainian, mother of an 8-year-old, remains hospitalized in a private hospital with doctors considering her clinically dead.
At the same time, the 45-year-old's partner is in custody as he was arrested for illegal entry and stay in the Republic of Cyprus. It was found that he arrived in Cyprus illegally from an uncontrolled point on December 13, 2023. Questioned by ICF investigators, he appears cooperative, reporting in detail what happened in their apartment over the past 24 hours, while declaring ignorance of the trauma. It should be noted that the Serb was examined by a forensic pathologist and was not found to have any signs of struggle. The same goes for the 45-year-old as she has no external injuries or any marks anywhere.
Members of the ICF of Limassol, the Criminal Investigation Service and the forensic pathologist Nicholas Charalambous carried out yesterday on-site examinations and an autopsy at the 45-year-old's apartment in order to identify evidence and evidence in relation to her injury. Nothing has emerged from the exams so far, but the exams are still ongoing.
According to the Serbian's testimony, on Tuesday night (9/1) the two consumed alcohol and had fun in the presence of the 8-year-old. They went to bed very late and as "F" learns around 10:00 am on Wednesday, the 45-year-old woke up and complained to her partner that she was not feeling well. According to the latter, he realized that blood was coming out of the nose and claimed that from that moment until 2:30 p.m. when he called an ambulance, she had relapsed. An ambulance picked up the 45-year-old and took her to a private hospital where she underwent a CT scan. According to the hospital, he suffered internal bleeding and a fractured head, and then underwent surgery.
However, the time when the hospital notified the authorities is a question mark. According to the information, the police were informed at 19:30 on Wednesday night to pick up an unconscious person after the 45-year-old had undergone surgery. It is worth mentioning that the ambulance crew member who picked up the 45-year-old from her apartment reported that he did not detect any obvious external head trauma. So did the 8-year-old, who saw her mother lose consciousness.
From the very first moment, family and friends of the 45-year-old, as well as residents of the apartment building where she lives, passed through the threshold of the ICF. All of them expressed ignorance and said they did not perceive anything. According to reports, a close friend of hers was together in the apartment until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, but did not notice anything strange about the 45-year-old's behaviour.
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The investigations of the Police and the Fire Brigade showed arson behind the fire that broke out at dawn on Friday (12/1) in a restaurant in Pissouri. The premises owned by two brothers suffered extensive damage externally, which have not yet been calculated.
In testimony, the two brothers expressed ignorance of the motives behind the arson of their business, claiming that they have no differences with anyone.
According to the Police, around 4:20 in the morning today, information was received at the Pissouri police station that a fire broke out in the restaurant, owned by a 68-year-old and a 70-year-old. Members of the Avdimou and Pissouri police stations went to the area, where they found a fire in the area of the outdoor bar, which is adjacent to the kitchen.
The fire was extinguished by the British Bases Fire Brigade while extensive damage was caused to the outside of the restaurant's bar.
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Thirty (30) persons driving vehicles without holding a driving license and without being covered by an insurance certificate, were identified and reported during a coordinated control operation, which took place yesterday by members of the Limassol Police Directorate and specifically the Limassol Traffic Department and Team "Z".
Twenty of the driving cases without a driver's license and without an insurance certificate were registered on the same day by the Police, at the Limassol District Court, for immediate trial, with police examinations continuing for the other ten cases. The vehicles of the 30 drivers were impounded for the purpose of police examinations.
In addition to the 30 persons found driving vehicles without holding a driving license and insurance certificate, two (2) more complaints were made by learner drivers, who were found driving vehicles without being accompanied by a licensed driver, while another (1) complaint was made by a driver who was not covered by an insurance certificate. There were also eight (8) complaints from persons driving vehicles for which there was no valid certificate of suitability – MOT, while eleven (11) persons were reported for driving vehicles that were registered at the TFT as immobilized and thirteen (13) persons were reported for driving vehicles for which there was no valid registration certificate.
The coordinated traffic control operation took place from 6.00am Wednesday until 6.00am on Thursday, in the context of actions to prevent serious and fatal road collisions, suppress traffic violations and increase safety on the road network. The focus of the targeted checks was on checking the documents of drivers and vehicles. For the purposes of the operation, the automatic vehicle number plate recognition system – ANPR was also used.
A total of 141 complaints were found and reported for traffic offences, including speed limit violations, illegal parking, violation of traffic lights, driving under the influence of drugs, hands-free driving – use of a mobile phone while driving, failure to wear seat belts by car drivers and protective helmet by motorcyclists.
