Wednesday, March 20, 2024

CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Live 19 March 2024



A shotgun was fired at a law firm. The gunshot hit the main entrance of the office in Paphos.

Employees working at the law firm spotted the damage in the morning when they went to the office and informed the police. The area has been cordoned off and investigations are ongoing.

The owner of the office expressed surprise at the attack, telling police that she has no differences with anyone and does not suspect who could do so.

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Pafos Live 20 March


The Pafos Assize Court yesterday sentenced a 30-year-old woman to 14 years in prison after she was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a felony, illegal importation of drugs, illegal possession of drugs with intent to supply to other persons and obstruction of a police officer in the performance of his duty.

This case concerns the import of 4 kg and 990 grams of methamphetamine, a quantity which was detected on 15/4/2023 at Larnaka airport and seized by the Customs Authorities. On April 15, 2023, a package arrived via Larnaka airport from a European country and was seized by the customs authorities in which there were three foot bath machines and in which there were a total of six packages of methamphetamine with a total gross weight of 4 kg and 990 grams with a specific recipient.

In the context of a coordinated drug operation of the YKAN and in the attempt to collect the drugs from the reported recipient, on April 18, the members of the YKAN went to the pick-up point where a vehicle with three persons on board arrived and received the package.

After one of them signed the receipt documents, he was arrested for a flagrant offence. During the body search conducted on the above, one resisted and was arrested for the offense of obstructing law enforcement officers and lawfully performing his duty. The court convicted the 30-year-old who was the final recipient of the package.

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Pafos Press


The Police proceeded to the arrest of a 43-year-old man on Tuesday in Paphos to facilitate the investigations for an investigated case of burglary of a warehouse and theft of tools from it.

Speed ​​kills

According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations, Michalis Nikolaou, on March 17, a 33-year-old man reported to the Pegeia police station that between March 16 and 17, his warehouse in a rural area of ​​Kissonerga was broken into and various tools with a total value of  €2,000 were stolen.

Also on March 19, it was reported by the same person that during the night of March 18 to 19, the same warehouse was broken into and tools with a total value of 1,500 euros were stolen.

From the tests carried out by the Police, they obtained testimony against a 43-year-old man, who was arrested on a warrant on Tuesday at 13:00.

According to Mr. Nikolaou, part of the stolen property was found during the investigation carried out at his residence as well as in his car.  The examinations are being continued by the Paphos Police.

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The Police in Paphos proceeded with the arrest of a 27-year-old and a 47-year-old woman in order to facilitate investigations into an investigated case of illegal employment.

According to the Assistant Police Director of Paphos Operations, Michalis Nikolaou, on March 19 at 12:00, members of the Aliens and Immigration Service and Team "G" of the Paphos Traffic Police were conducting a static check on Neophytos Nikolaidis Avenue and stopped for a check a passing motorcycle driven by a resident resident of Paphos aged 27, who resides in Cyprus with a student permit.

The check revealed that the 27-year-old was working as a distributor in a company managed by a 47-year-old.

The 27-year-old was immediately arrested for illegal employment and taken to the central police station where his 47-year-old employer was also called.

Both persons were subsequently charged in writing with illegal employment and subsequently released to be summoned at a later date.

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Filenews

The observation of the businessman, whose wife was robbed a month ago at their home in Larnaca, led to the identification of a Syrian man allegedly involved in the criminal act that had caused a sensation.

According to philenews, the businessman spotted his wife's watch, snatched by the perpetrators of the robbery, being sold in Lebanon and informed the police. The robbery was reported on February 19 by the businessman's 58-year-old wife, who experienced moments of terror along with two domestic workers.

At one o'clock in the morning of the same day, according to her complaint, four masked men wearing gloves entered her home and at the threat of garden scissors confined her and the two domestic workers in a bedroom on the first floor of the house, located in the Faneromeni area of Larnaca. After seizing their mobile phones and the gold they were wearing, the attackers forced the 58-year-old to open the safe from which they seized watches and gold items worth €188,000 and €4,000 in cash.

In her testimony, the woman said two of the attackers spoke Arabic. From the CCTV that was received, it was found that the perpetrators were five and that they may have been transported in a vehicle stolen from Limassol. This particular vehicle was found abandoned in early March, in the bed of the Germasogeia river.

The 58-year-old's husband, meanwhile, a few days later spotted on a social media platform selling a watch he suspected was his wife's that had been stolen.

He also found that the watch was sold in a jewellery store in Lebanon. The jeweller reportedly told him that he was taken from a certain number in Cyprus to negotiate with him.

After examinations by the investigators of the Larnaca ICF, it was found that two Syrians may be involved in the case, one of whom had the phone number given by the jeweller in Lebanon.

The two suspects were arrested and brought before the Larnaca District Court, which ordered the detention of only the 40-year-old.

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An Iranian man who has been in Cyprus since 2002 was arrested in November 2023 following information that he is active for the benefit of Iranian terrorist elements, with the aim of carrying out a criminal act against Israelis in Cyprus.

The Iranian appealed to the Administrative Court and asked for the annulment of the detention and deportation decrees as well as their declaration as a prohibited immigrant, since as he argued that the decision was taken abusively, is the result of a series of violations of the law and the principles governing the operation of the administration. After evaluating the testimony and having access to the file marked "secret", the Court, after hearing both sides, ruled that the applicant's conduct justifies the Director's finding that he constitutes a genuine, present and serious threat to the security of society and consequently a threat to public order and security of the Republic. precluding the possibility of imposing alternatives to detention on the person concerned.

According to a court decision, the applicant, an Iranian national and recognized refugee, arrived on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus on 2/01/2002 legally through Larnaka airport, along with his wife and their son. On 15/05/2003 the applicant submitted an application for political asylum, which after being examined, he was granted refugee status on 25/08/2004, having obtained residence permits with this status. It is noted that on 09/12/2004 he changed his name, for reasons of safety of himself and his family.

On 29/05/2009 the applicant registered an application for naturalization as a Cypriot citizen, which was rejected on 15/12/2014. His appeal, which followed before the Administrative Court, was dismissed by decision dated 17/01/2019. It appears from the administrative file that, in the context of the examination of the application for citizenship, a report was sent by the BPH, in which it is recorded that information was collected that the applicant is involved in the trafficking of false passports, but could not be brought to criminal prosecution, as the complaint was made in the occupied areas.

On 04/11/2023, the applicant was arrested at his home pursuant to a court arrest warrant for the purpose of investigating a criminal case and has remained in custody ever since. Specifically, he was arrested for the purpose of investigating a case concerning: (a) Conspiracy to commit a felony in violation of Article 371 Cap. 154, (b) Participation in a criminal organization in violation of Article 63A Cap. 154, (c) Participation in and acceptance of the commission of crimes in violation of Article 63B Cap. 154, (d) offences related to the Combating Terrorism and Protection of Victims article 5 of Law 75(I)/2019, as there was information that the applicant is active for the benefit of Iranian terrorist elements, with the aim of carrying out a criminal act against Israeli persons, namely the murder of Israeli nationals and in particular an Israeli businessman who holds Cypriot citizenship.

By letter from the Director of the Civil Registry and Migration Department dated 18/11/2023, it was decided to deport him. The Court agreed with the lawyer of the Legal Service that the measure of his detention was appropriate and proportionate to the result sought, namely the implementation of the deportation order, which, as mentioned above, has been lawfully issued, after due investigation and justification. Following that finding, he dismissed his action.

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Financial differences appear to be behind the knife attack on a foreigner in Limassol. The perpetrator, according to the complainant, was his former roommate.

According to the Police, around 22:00 last night, a 28-year-old foreigner went to Limassol Hospital with superficial stab wounds in various parts of his body. The 28-year-old said his injury was caused by a knife after being attacked half an hour earlier while in the Agios Ioannis area of Limassol.

As he reported, the perpetrator is a compatriot with whom he lived in the past, while the reason for the attack was debts he would have had with the perpetrator. The injured man received First Aid and was subsequently discharged.

He then indicated to the members of the ICF Limassol the location where he was attacked where on-site examinations were conducted.

Investigations are ongoing and efforts are being made to identify the perpetrator.

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It is not enough that he entered the territory controlled by the Republic from the occupied areas, he systematically cost the recreation centers of Pafos, refusing to pay in cash when his credit card was found not to be accepted.

The reason is a 27-year-old Italian, who was eventually arrested and detained when one of the restaurateurs to whom he caused the problem reported him to the police. It was found that this case had been preceded by at least four other cases in which the suspect went to restaurants, ordered and ate, but when it came time for the bill there was always a problem of repayment with the credit card he displayed.

At the exhortations of the businessmen to pay the amount of the account in cash, he refused, citing the lack of cash, but seems to have escaped in all cases since the amount was not particularly large. In each of these cases, the restaurateurs said, it ranged between €20 and €30, which prompted them not to file complaints to avoid procedural delays from their work.

But it seems that yesterday the restaurateur who was faced with the same problem did not let it pass and called the police. Now the 27-year-old has been arrested for obtaining credit by false representations, after according to the officials the repeated unsuccessful use of the card proves that he was acting with the knowledge that he could not meet his financial obligations.

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One of Larnaka's most serious problems is the writing of slogans by brainless people, who have gone beyond all limits.

Their victims this time are even the palm trees on the coastal front of Athinon Avenue, which presents an unacceptable picture since last Sunday.

Fools wrote slogans and made drawings on the trunks of many palm trees located on the sea side, from the height of Larnaka Marina to the Medieval Castle. And all this on the busiest and most touristic street of Larnaka, which is the trademark of the city. A similar picture is presented, meanwhile, by flower gardens and shop windows in Ermou Square and other parts of the city center, which were filled with group slogans.

The new vandalism caused the anger of residents, but also of Larnaka Municipality, which condemned in a statement the reckless display of slogans in the city center, which took place, as it says, on the evening of March 17, 2024. "Brainless people with the use of sprays have soiled public and private spaces, shop windows, flower gardens in squares and some of the trunks of palm trees on the coastal front of Finikoudes," notes the Municipality, indicating that it has recently launched a campaign to combat visual pollution and erase slogans through a special crew. "The results of the campaign were visible and the reckless display of slogans was greatly restricted. Apparently some not only do not appreciate the efforts made by Larnaka Municipality to keep our city clean, but continue to destroy public and private properties," Larnaka Municipality said. Such unacceptable and malicious actions, he adds, "create feelings of anger and indignation."

Larnaka Municipality once again called on the Police to take policing measures and implement measures to combat such phenomena.

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Cyprus Mail

A total of 64 kilograms of meat smuggled from the Republic was found and seized by police in the north on Tuesday night.

The meat was found in a house in the village of Yerolakkos with the house’s owner, a 63-year-old man, who was arrested.

Police investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Cases of police in the north finding and seizing large quantities of meat smuggled from the Republic have been increasing in both frequency and volume in recent months.

Last week, almost two metric tonnes of beef and 67kg of lamb were seized from two supermarkets in the Kyrenia district, while a man was fined earlier this month after attempting to smuggle 143kg of red meat through the Ayios Dhometios crossing point.

Meat prices in the north are significantly higher than in the Republic, with Turkish Cypriot butchers finding themselves squeezed by rising costs and a shrinking consumer base.

Turkish Cypriot butchers slaughtered two lambs in protest of the situation in January and demanded the north’s ‘government’ “find a solution” to allow meat to be sold at a price range in line with prices in the Republic.

“We are currently seeing our own citizens travel to the south to do their shopping. This has brought vendors, who have been crushed under the weight of economic difficulties, to the point of bankruptcy, meaning they cannot cover basic expenses like their electricity bills or rent,” they said.

“We are throwing away meat we cannot sell because it stinks, and as a result animal slaughter has hit rock bottom,” they added, continuing that while the crisis is worsening, “the government is acting as if everything is rosy.”