Pafos Live 7 February 2024
A 23-year-old Bulgarian man is being sought by police in connection with the recent burglary and theft of the church of Agia Paraskevi in Geroskipou.
The Byzantine church of Agia Paraskevi is located in the central square of the municipality and was targeted by burglars on Friday night. The attackers broke a church window and stole money and other valuables.
It is noted that burglars in recent days have also targeted a series of chapels located in the area of Kato Paphos from which burglars extorted small amounts of money.
Update from Filenews:
A couple of foreign permanent residents of Cyprus were allegedly involved in the burglary last week of an office in the grounds of the church of Agia Paraskevi Geroskipou, in which an amount of €5,000 and other valuables were stolen. The woman was arrested in a police operation last night, while her husband is wanted under a court warrant.
The burglary of the auxiliary building of the famous church of Agia Paraskevi in the central square of the Municipality of Geroskipou took place on February 3rd. The priest in charge of the church reported to the police that the office of the church of Agia Paraskevi, located next to the church, was burglarized and around €5,000 stolen.
Members of the Pafos ICF went to the scene and the examinations revealed that the entrance and exit of the perpetrators was achieved through a wooden window of the office, after it was violated with a sharp object, while external protective irons were also cut off. Various documents were received from the scene for scientific examinations.
The Police obtained testimony yesterday that a person from an Eastern European country, who is a permanent resident of Paphos, was involved in the case. A warrant was issued against him by the Pafos District Court for the arrest and search of the premises where he lives. Members of the force searched the premises in the presence of the wife of a wanted person yesterday afternoon and located inside the house and received as evidence an amount of money of €4,705 as well as cufflinks of gold colour and two rings of bronze colour.
The wife of the wanted man was arrested and under questioning made some allegations that are being investigated.
The ICF Pafos is investigating the case.
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A total of €36,156 was collected yesterday from the execution of a total of 178 uncollected warrants in Paphos. Police also ran a new warrant collection campaign in the district, according to Paphos Assistant Police Director Michalis Nicolaou.
The campaign concerned outstanding warrants for rural residents of the province and €36,156 was collected from the execution of a total of 178 uncollected warrants, according to Nicolaou. Citizens who contacted pafoslive complain that only ordinary people are "targeted" and not the well-known citizens and large debtors.
A spokesman for the force clarified that for citizens or companies that owe large sums, they usually make arrangements with the various departments of the state for gradual repayment of their debts.
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A 29-year-old man who was wanted since November 27, 2023, in connection with an investigated case of threat of violence, assault causing actual bodily harm and others, offences committed between October and November, 2023 in the Paphos district, was arrested yesterday at noon on the basis of the court warrant pending against him.
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Police yesterday proceeded on the basis of court warrants, to arrest three women, aged 60, 53 and 39.
All three women are being investigated for the offences of illegal stay in the territory of the Republic, illegal employment, forgery, circulation of a false document, impersonation and obtaining registration by false representations.
Specifically, members of the Aliens and Immigration Service of the Headquarters conducted an inspection yesterday at a hotel unit in the Paphos district.
During the inspection, the above women were found to be working in the hotel unit, and after examinations that followed, it was found that they were staying illegally in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
Also, after an audit carried out by an officer of the Anti-Undeclared Work Service of the Ministry of Labour, it was found that all three women had registered in the social insurance system with data (nationality) different from their real ones.
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Members of the Special Motorcycle Platoon of the Traffic Headquarters Department stopped a vehicle driven by a 62-year-old man in Larnaca for inspection at dawn today.
The 62-year-old underwent an alcohol test with a final reading of 123μg%, instead of 22μg% which is the legal limit.
The 62-year-old was arrested for a flagrant offence and then released to appear before a court.
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The Famagusta Assize Court sentenced today to four years in prison, two persons aged 23 and 22, both from the Famagusta district, after finding them guilty on charges of illegal possession of drugs, illegal possession of drugs for the purpose of supplying to other persons as well as illegal cultivation of cannabis plants.
Specifically, following a search conducted at their homes by members of the YKAN on June 7, 2023, a quantity of cannabis weighing approximately 500 grams, 100 grams of cocaine, five grams of cannabis resin, a precision scale and a sum of money over 3,500 euros were found at the 22-year-old's home.
On the same day, a search was carried out at the 22-year-old's home, where they found a quantity of cannabis weighing about 500 grams, a quantity of cannabis resin weighing approximately 565 grams, 30 grams of cocaine, as well as 15 cannabis plants ranging in height from 12 to 50 centimeters.
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Pafos Press
A 17-year-old minor driver was spotted last night by members of the Police driving his father's car at 22:30 at night.
During police and traffic checks in Geroskipou, specifically on Archbishop Makariou Avenue III, the young man was spotted driving his father's vehicle.
The young man, who lives in a village in the countryside, will be called together with his father to the Police to prepare the relevant file against him.
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Filenews
The investigations of our country's investigation team continue, which, together with Europol and the Portuguese and Latvian authorities, are trying to solve the case of the international racket of marriages of convenience, which centred on Cyprus.
So far, evidence of 133 marriages of convenience has been identified and 15 people arrested, in three countries. The Indian alleged mastermind of the criminal group, as well as 19 other foreigners who allegedly performed sham marriages, continue to be wanted in order to obtain a residence permit in the Republic.
The 13 foreigners from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who were arrested in Cyprus within the day are expected to be brought before the Larnaca District Court for the renewal of their detention orders. In the coming days, investigators from the Larnaca ICF will travel to Portugal in order to transfer to Cyprus the wife of the alleged mastermind, who was extradited to our country after apparently recruiting brides and grooms. According to the data collected by the Cypriot Police, two Indians arrested in Cyprus sent various amounts to it, 25 and 37 years old, in order for brides and grooms to obtain a certificate of freedom. Latvian authorities have also been asked to extradite a woman who was also allegedly recruiting brides from the country for a fee.
It is recalled that 107 sham weddings took place at Aradippou Town Hall, 25 at Nicosia Town Hall and one at Livadia Town Hall. The investigations seem to have revealed that some of the foreigners who performed the weddings were the witnesses to weddings that followed theirs. Under the microscope of the Police is a large volume of documents, believed to be forged and submitted by the alleged couples to the Aliens and Immigration Service. These relate to rental documents, insurance documents, as well as employment agreements with various employers.
The investigative work that remains, according to "F" information, is very large, since dozens of statements are still expected to be received from municipal councillors who performed the sham marriages, members of insurance companies, officials of state departments as well as the employers mentioned in the documents.
They call on Evangelides to apologize
In Aradippou, meanwhile, the tremors over the celebration of 107 marriages of convenience continue. After the announcement of the Municipality defending its actions by indirectly attributing responsibilities to state services, AKEL Aradippou came back with new fire towards the mayor, Evangelos Evangelidis. Claiming that the administrative control over the procedures followed is the responsibility of the mayor, AKEL points out that "the legitimate question of public opinion is not answered, because criminal networks have always preferred the Aradippou Municipality from the 39 municipalities that Cyprus has, in order to carry out their illegal actions". He adds that the municipality is also vilified and that the mayor, as its political boss, "should at least apologize".
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Facing justice is the 47-year-old owner of the fish farm in Trimiklini who is accused, along with another relative, of disobedience and insult against officials of the Department of Fisheries.
The case was set today before the District Court for a response, however, time was given to study the witness material and set for early March. The two defendants, the 47-year-old owner of the fish farm and his 72-year-old father, were given conditions to ensure their presence at the trial. Specifically, the Court imposed as security the amount of €10,000 each as well as €1,000 in cash.
According to philenews, the indictment includes 3 charges of disobedience against officials of the Department of Fisheries and 3 charges of public insult concerning the second accused.
The 47-year-old owner according to the charges included in the indictment, on September 19, 2023, allegedly disobeyed an order issued by the Inspector of Fisheries and Marine Research to check and inspect his premises named "The Land of Dreams" and refused her entry. On the other hand, the 72-year-old defendant allegedly insulted the officials by calling them "public chair-centaurs, clever idiots and cilinjiro".
The case was registered with the Court on 15 January after the file had been studied by the Legal Service and instructions were given for criminal prosecution of the accused. The complaints were made to the Police by the officers of the Department of Fisheries, while witnesses in the case are three police officers of the Laneia Station who were present at the incident.
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A well-laid trap seems to have been set against a former Greek Cypriot footballer and female lawyer from Limassol, the 32-year-old suspected "investor" who wanted to become president of the football team, Enosis Neon Paralimni.
The 32-year-old was brought before the Limassol Court which ordered his detention for a period of 6 days. In the case, statements are expected to be taken both from the chairman of the ENP and from a person in charge of a specific company as well as other persons mentioned in the statements. Also, 23 statements are expected to be taken from the suspect's family, friends and work environment.
As philenews knows, the 32-year-old, after surrendering to the authorities, initially stated that he has evidence to clarify his position, however, under questioning in writing, he admitted that he received a sum of money from the two complainants, saying that he used it for personal debts he had and for the purchase of a car. His allegations will be investigated by the members of the investigation team of the ICF of Limassol.
According to the facts presented before the Court, the complainant, a former football player, in his complaint on 19/1 stated that at the beginning of December 2023 he received a message on his social media account from a specific person, asking him to meet to talk professionally about football. After exchanging phones, in conversations the suspect had with the complainant, he expressed his intention to take over the team of the Youth Union of Paralimni, in order to become its president.
Among other things, the 32-year-old had told the complainant that he would soon receive more than €16 million. He would invest part of this money in the ENP team. He also reportedly said he was awaiting loan approval from a bank and would invest €300,000 in the team.
According to the complaint, in addition to the above, the 32-year-old assured the complainant that he had shares in an uncle's company in Africa and that he would return the money he would lend him. In fact, in order to convince the former footballer of the 32-year-old's financial standing, the latter sent him a photo showing bank logos as well as a certificate that the sum of €16.5 million was paid by the 32-year-old. A transfer would be made to his account in a Cypriot bank.
He sent a player for a transfer and discovered the trap
The complainant was convinced by the suspect's words and intentions and gave him the sum of €36,500, without receiving a receipt. Please note that some money transfers were made via REVOLUT. All this was not enough, the complainant on 16/01 sent a player to sign a transfer to ENP and then there he was informed by members of the team that the transfer could not proceed unless the cheques given by the 32-year-old suspect to the team were clarified.
It should be noted that the complainant contacted the suspect and told him that he should contact a competent bank person, so that a telephone teleconference could take place between the president of the ENP, the suspect and the bank employee to be informed about the progress of the loan that the suspect would receive from the Bank and which he would invest in the group. Then, the 32-year-old introduced them as an employee, a woman who, during their telephone conference, presented herself as Katerina Ioannou.
During the telephone conference, the complainant and former footballer found that this woman was not aware of the procedures and began to realise that she had fallen into the trap of the 32-year-old.
It should be noted that an investigation conducted at this bank found that such a person named Katerina Ioannou is not employed and the 32-year-old had not applied for a loan either.
He deceived a lawyer under the pretext of players' contracts.
The 32-year-old allegedly deceived a female lawyer from Limassol by telling her that he bought a football team and wanted a lawyer for the players' contracts. The suspect went to the complainant's office and presented her with a contract under which he would buy the ENP team. He introduced himself to her as an insurance broker and said he expected to get millions from his uncle in South Africa, who has no children.
When the complainant found out that the suspect had contacts with both the former footballer and members of the Board of Directors of Enosis Neon Paralimni and thus became convinced of his intentions.
On 29/12/2023 the lawyer along with the suspect went to the bank to make a loan to buy the ENP team. The bank, in the presence of the lawyer, did not approve a loan to the 32-year-old, since he had nothing to mortgage. The suspect then asked the lawyer for the sum of €10,000 which he would return to her twice when he received the amount of €200,000 as a sponsorship from a specific company. After a few days, the lawyer, convinced by what the suspect told her, gave him the money in cash against a relevant agreement. However, she began to suspect that something was wrong and asked the suspect about the money he would receive from his uncle from South Africa, with the latter telling her that he found out about the money when a lawyer named Giannis from a certain law firm went to his house and gave the suspect documents saying that he secured shares worth €16 million from his uncle. From an investigation conducted at the said law firm, this lawyer told the investigators of the ICF Limassol that the law firm had never had such a case and that he did not know the suspect and never met him.
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Cyprus Mail
A man robbed and assaulted another with an electrocution device in Limassol on Tuesday.
According to state broadcaster CyBC the attack happened shortly after 7pm in a tourist area of Yermasoyia against a 38-year-old Russian national.
The man appears to have agreed via an online platform to meet with a 30-year-old Ukrainian to exchange €10,000 into US dollars.
The 38-year-old stopped his car at the agreed meeting point and the 30-year-old entered the car and sat in the passenger seat.
While the former counted his money the 30-year-old allegedly attacked him with an electrocution device and started beating him. A second man, who had been loitering at the scene, also joined in the assault.
The two managed to take the cash off the victim, as well as a pouch containing credit cards and mobile phones.
The victim wrestled the electrocution device from his assailants and attempted to drive off, crashing into a parked car.
The perpetrators escaped on foot and the victim subsequently reported the theft and assault to the police.
Police received the electrocution device and the victim’s vehicle as evidence and are investigating the case.
