Pafos Live 13 March 2024
A car arson occurred last night in Paphos. A vehicle belonging to a business owner operating on Ellados Avenue, which was parked outside his business, burst into flames around ten o'clock last night.
The business owner was in the store at the time but didn't notice anything. The vehicle, after the malicious action, due to the downhill of the road, moved a few meters resulting in a fire and a second vehicle belonging to unsuspecting citizens who had parked in the same area. Both vehicles suffered extensive damage.
It is noted that the owner of this business was also targeted by arsonists a few months ago. The fire was extinguished by the fire brigade while the scene has been cordoned off by police for examinations today.
Cyprus Mail update - Police and fire fighters in Paphos attributed a fire that broke out in a vehicle owned by a 46-year-old man on Tuesday night to arson, which spread to a second vehicle. According to the deputy police chief Michalis Nikolaou, in the evening a fire broke out in a car parked on the main road, where the 46-year-old runs a restaurant.
The vehicle allegedly rolled off as a result of the fire and collided with another car that was in front of it belonging to a 32-year-old man which cause the second vehicle to catch on fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire service.
Nikolaou said the fire was determined to be arson based on testimony secured.
The scene remains cordoned off while Paphos CID continues the investigation.
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Police have arrested the Greek Cypriot owner of the vehicle destroyed by a fire set maliciously yesterday.
The vehicle was located outside a machine shop in the industrial area of Agia Varvara. In the same case, the police also obtained testimony against a second person, a British permanent resident of Cyprus. An arrest warrant has been issued against him and he is wanted.
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The Department of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment announces that today, shortly after noon, a forest fire broke out in the Community of Vretsia.
The fire was brought under full control at 2:40 p.m., after burning one and a half hectares of reedbeds, low wild vegetation and forest vegetation.
The firefighting operation involved two fire trucks of the Department of Forests with ten people.
The fire was set maliciously.
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During the investigation of the case, testimony emerged against a 26-year-old person, who was arrested last night and taken into custody.
Filenews update - A few days after locating two unaccompanied baggage with almost 43 kilos of khat (a rare drug), the Customs Department found again at Larnaka airport an "orphan" suitcase, this time, full of marijuana.
The suitcase, according to philenews, made the route Singapore-Munich-Cyprus. Upon receipt of the luggage it was found that no one was waiting to collect it and after checking it was found that drugs were inside it.
The Anti-Narcotics Service was immediately notified, members of which were waiting for its recipient at Larnaka airport, since it was registered to a specific person. Its recipient, a 26-year-old man from Britain, unknown for what reason so far, arrived in our country on another flight and rushed to collect his luggage.
The suitcase was opened in his presence and it was found that inside it was hiding packages with 16 kilos and 752 grams of cannabis. The 26-year-old was arrested and admitted the drugs were his, but declined to say who he would deliver them to in Cyprus.
The suspect will appear within the day before the Larnaca District Court for a detention order.
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Filenews
Two persons, aged 33 and 27, were arrested for facilitating police investigations into an ongoing case of assisting a total of 458 irregular migrants, who were on six boats and were spotted off Cape Greco on Monday 11 March, to illegally enter the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
CNA reports that the two are facing offences concerning, inter alia, entry into the territory of the Republic, aiding the illegal entry of third country persons into the Republic, assisting third country persons with intent and with the aim of making a profit, transporting a person by water in an unsafe and overloaded vessel and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The 33-year-old from Palestine was on the 4th boat and the 27-year-old from Syria on the 5th boat, while their arrest was made possible after testimonies of fellow passengers who pointed them to the Police as the pilots of the two boats.
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Two vehicles were engulfed in flames early on Wednesday, which were parked at a gas station in Nicosia.
According to the Police, around 05:00 in the morning a fire broke out in two vehicles, which were parked, for sale, at a gas station on Makarios Avenue.
The Fire Brigade rushed to the scene, extinguishing the fire using foam production.
According to the spokesman of the Fire Service, Andreas Kettis, the first vehicle suffered extensive damage and the second vehicle was completely destroyed.
It also notes that damage was also caused to a billboard with a illuminated sign on the sidewalk.
The scene remains cordoned off for investigation by members of the Police in an attempt to establish the cause behind the fire in the two vehicles.
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The image of bus stops, especially on the Limassol coastal road, is described as unacceptable by the president of the city's PASYXE board, Christos Tsanos.
While the Limassol Passenger Transport Company records an increase in passenger traffic, at most bus stops one will encounter visual pollution, vandalism, smudges, crude graffiti and even fan slogans and signatures. These are stops that have been degraded for years, without maintenance and lack lighting and electronic signs.
The issue has been of concern for months both to the board of directors of the Pancyprian Association of Limassol Hoteliers and the board of directors of the Limassol Tourism Development and Promotion Company, with the latter having sent a letter to the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, as of January 2024.
ETAL, through a letter, requests information from the Ministry of Transport regarding the timetables set for the replacement of bus stops, stressing that their upgrade will contribute to the further increase of passenger traffic in public transport and to the improvement of the tourist image of the city and province.
For his part, the president of PASYXE Limassol, Christos Tsanos, criticizes the fact that while titanic efforts are being made to increase tourist flow, at the same time some issues have been stagnant for years. He argued, among other things, that the image presented today by bus stops, especially in the coastal area of the city, does not resemble anything European country. "We expect the competent ministry and the Department of Public Works to proceed immediately with the upgrade of bus stops and shelters. The images we see every day at the bus stops, only shame make you feel so much about the city and our culture," he noted.
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Cyprus Mail
Police on Tuesday arrested a 33-year-old man for an investigated case of illegal stay in the Republic and working without a permit.
According to police, the man was allegedly in possession of a fake identity card and was arrested in connection with a case of forgery, circulation of a forged document and impersonation.
Members of the Paphos immigrations service together with officials from the labour ministry conducted an inspection at a property in the coastal area of Geroskipou.
Police found the 33-year-old working without an employment permit, while further checks showed that his residence permit was expired since February.
Investigations revealed the man had subsequently tried to secure work at the property in question by means of a fake Greek identity card, unbeknownst to the employer, which he also allegedly used to register for social security.
