CRIME ROUND UP

 Cyprus Mail 31 July 2024

A truck driver was fined after he was caught trying to bring 4,500 litres of fuel from the north to the Republic, the customs office said on Wednesday.

Police pulled the truck over to find he had four tanks and two jars of petrol, amounting to 4,500 litres.

The driver admitted to trying to bring over the north and was fined on the spot. He was released after paying €18,000 and another €1,000 for his vehicle.

According to the customs office, the fuel was handed over to a recycling company to be destroyed.

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Pafos Live 1 August 2024

The Pafos District Court yesterday imposed a 12-month prison sentence on a 36-year-old permanent resident of Cyprus. It found him guilty in five counts of unlawful possession of property, as well as illegal possession of other items. 

The 36-year-old was given various sentences with a maximum of twelve months. 

The offences were committed in previous months.

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Pafos Police arrested a 59-year-old man yesterday to facilitate investigations into an ongoing case of possession of a stolen flauber.

 

According to Pafos Assistant Police Director of Operations, Michalis Nicolaou, on Wednesday, a member of the Pafos Crime Prevention Unit, who was off duty, while traveling by car, noticed a person, aged 59, who engaged the investigating authorities several times, in possession of a flaubert-type firearm in a residential area. 

She approached him and then arrested him for a self-committed offence of possession and transport of a firearm in a residential area and during a period when it is closed for hunting. 

In a further investigation carried out by the member of the Pafos OPE, Nicolaou told CNA, the 59-year-old was also found in possession of four cartridges of the weapon in question, which contain explosive. He was subsequently re-arrested for the offence of illegal possession of explosives. 

He was taken to the police station and further examinations by the Police revealed that the weapon in question had been stolen on 27.1.22 from a warehouse in the area of the village of Kouklia. 

He was arrested to facilitate investigations into an ongoing case of theft from a locked box, unlawful possession of a firearm, illegal possession and transport of explosives.

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Police in Limassol are investigating a case of premeditated murder after two bodies were found in a burning vehicle shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning. 

The legal autopsy on the two bodies was completed a while ago and according to the coroner Nikolas Charalambous, the death of the two persons resulted from a traumatic brain injury caused by a firearm. 

The two bodies were found charred in a burning car, on a dirt side road of the main road Parekklisia - Kellaki, after information was received around 00:10.  

These are the bodies of two men whose identity has not yet been established.

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Filenews 1 August

The examiners of the Nicosia Crime Detection Department were stunned when they were informed of the findings of the autopsy performed yesterday on the 3.5-month-old girl, who lost her life in tragic living conditions in Nicosia last Sunday.

Commenting on the findings of the forensic experts of the Republic, Angeliki Papetta and the Orthodox Orthodox, a source of "F" said that the child "was literally left to her fate and it is not a figure of speech".

Bites...

As we are informed, the infant even had bites on her head, legs and hands. Probably from insects, such as ants and fleas. The coroner's report said they found "skin lesions" that are "consistent with bug bites."

Note that any other scenario about the origin of the skin lesions is not excluded.

Underweight the little angel                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The infant was in a bad condition unimaginable to the human mind, since she was underweight and obviously not fed properly. The diaper worn by the unfortunate little girl was not changed for days and even the little angel had the corresponding marks on her body.

"Her body melted," we were told as we tried to get answers. It also seemed from her clothing that she was not being cared for. Nor did her personal hygiene seem to be a priority for her parents.

When she was picked up by the ambulance service to be taken to the Accident and Emergency Department, she was already in bad condition, her bodysuit smelled and there were no vital signs.

No diapers and milk                                                                                                                                                                                                                               "F" reports that when the examiners of the case went to the house where the father and mother of the infant lived, they found no evidence suggesting systematic care. There was no milk, no diapers. In general, it seemed that the child was abandoned to her fate, without receiving maternal affection and general care.

The examiners found, in particular, a tin milk powder can, which was empty. They also found a package of baby cloths, which had no contents.

They are investigating homicide                                                                                                                                                                                                              It should be noted that the ICF of Nicosia, which has now undertaken the investigative work, is investigating a case of homicide and not death resulting from negligence. Such are the findings that the act cannot be attributed to negligence. In fact, our information indicates that the request of the Police for the issuance of an arrest warrant against her father (29/7), but also later (30/7) the verbal request for detention, is invoked in the offense of homicide.

Did the father notify?                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The case arose at noon last Sunday when the infant's father contacted authorities by phone to inform that the infant was unwell. The Ambulance Service responded immediately. An ambulance with crew arrived at the scene, where they realized that the child had no signs of life. Shortly afterwards she was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department of Nicosia General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Initially, the case was examined by the Lakatamia Police Station and then the ICF of Nicosia was notified to take over due to its seriousness.

The contradiction from father to mother                                                                                                                                                                                                 -  He did not abandon them days ago, but on Sunday when the infant passed away                                                                                                        -  The 23-year-old father from Pakistan initially said the baby's Greek passport holder, the baby's mother, had abandoned them two days ago. However, following police examinations, it emerged that he had left their place of residence on the day the infant was pronounced dead.

Testimony later obtained by police said the woman already wanted left a few hours before her boyfriend called an ambulance, telling him she would go to Thessaloniki where she would get work. A few hours later, it was determined that the infant had died.                                                                                                                                                                            The police were notified of the infant's death and condition by doctors at Nicosia General Hospital on Sunday afternoon. Immediately the examinations began by members of the Lakatamia police station (as we noted, later the case was taken over by the ICF of the capital). Police officers went to the public hospital and inspected the infant's body, where signs were found that raised suspicions of serious neglect.

The following day, the 23-year-old father was arrested on the basis of a court warrant for the offences of murder, causing death by reckless, reckless or dangerous act, and exposure of a child and dereliction of duty as head of family.

The day before yesterday, the 23-year-old was brought before the Nicosia District Court, which issued an eight-day detention order against him.

Mother wanted                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         As we were informed yesterday, procedures were launched to locate and arrest the mother. She is already wanted, we were told, which means that an arrest warrant has been issued against her. It is expected that consultation will be made with the relevant Greek authorities, in order to achieve the purpose of locating her and bringing her before the Cypriot justice.

The exact causes

The exact causes of the infant's death will be revealed by the results of laboratory tests. During yesterday's long autopsy on the body of the unfortunate angel, the forensic pathologists of the Republic, Angeliki Papetta and the Orthodox Orthodox, took a large number of samples for toxicological, histopathological, virological and genetic laboratory tests. It is believed that they will shed light on the degree of neglect of the 3.5-month-old girl.

No civil status documents

It is also surprising that the child was not registered when it was born. There is no registered civil status document. It appears that the couple visited a paediatrician just once to examine the child. In fact, it appears that they were given specific advice about the child's well-being. Information that the 23-year-old had a Muslim marriage with the wanted woman from Greece is not confirmed.

INCREDIBLE CONDITIONS - Autopsy in scene from "F"                                                                                                                                                   Stench, pile of garbage and dirt.  "F" yesterday afternoon saw for himself how the infant lived on the first floor of a building on "Archbishop Makarios III" Avenue in Lakatamia. The word "miserable" is not enough to describe the conditions in which the couple lived with the child.                                                                                                                              First, let's clarify that it is an apartment above a well-known store. Although the building is not new, it is not in a tragic condition. It has five rooms rented mostly to economic migrants from India. One room was rented by the 23-year-old from Pakistan with his former partner.

During our own enquiry, we found that persons live properly and hygiene rules are observed in all rooms, except the one where the couple lived. The stench until now is unbearable, the room was not ventilated and behind the door there was a pile of rubbish and dirt. We even saw an empty package of diapers and a carton of milk powder.

Testimonies we collected indicate that the residents of the apartment several times made suggestions to the parents about the baby, after finding that she often cried. "He wouldn't take the baby out or open the windows. The mother didn't seem interested. The father paid more attention," is one of the testimonies we collected at the scene.

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Thousands of boxes of cigarettes and other tobacco products were found and confiscated by customs authorities in July, most notably the case of a 68-year-old man in a village south of Nicosia, in whose possession were found 4,082 boxes of cigarettes of 200 pieces each, 125 kilos of roll-your-own tobacco and 775 boxes of heated cigarettes. The duties and taxes corresponding to the above quantity of tobacco products exceed €190,000.

According to an announcement by the Department of Customs and Excise during July, the Department recorded 7 significant seizures of duty-free tobacco products, which were mainly illegally transported from the occupied to the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus.

On July 11, 2024, officers of the Department of Customs and Excise were notified by the Police that, following an assessment of information and a relevant search of premises owned by a 68-year-old Cypriot, in a village south of Nicosia, large quantities of tobacco products were found, both inside the premises and inside the suspect's vehicle. Upon arrival of the Customs officers at the scene, 4,082 boxes of cigarettes of 200 pieces each, 125 kilos of roll-your-own tobacco and 775 boxes of heated cigarettes were located, counted and confiscated, which did not bear the label for the harmful of smoking in Greek and Turkish, nor the security feature and the unique traceability code. indications that they were duty-free. The duties and taxes corresponding to the above quantity of tobacco products exceed €190,000. The suspect, who has been employed many times in the past by the Department of Customs and Excise with similar offences, was arrested and taken to the Court from where a 4-day detention order was obtained and then released until the trial of the case.

On July 1, 2024, during checks at the Ayios Dometios roadblock, officers of the Department of Customs and Excise intercepted a "taxi" type vehicle with Turkish Cypriot registration numbers, in which the taxi driver and 2 passengers were traveling with their luggage, bound for Larnaka Airport from where they would travel to the United Kingdom. During the search of their luggage, 195 boxes of 200 cigarettes each and 2 kilos and 450 grams of roll-your-own tobacco were found and confiscated, which did not bear the smoking harm label in Greek and Turkish, nor the security feature and unique traceability code, indications that they were duty-free. The 2 passengers were arrested for a self-driving offence, while the vehicle was also confiscated as a means of transporting tobacco products. Later both were released, after paying €5,500 and €5,000 respectively for the out-of-court settlement of the offences. The vehicle was returned to the driver with the payment of €500.

On July 7, 2024, officers of the Limassol Customs and Excise Department conducted a search at a premises where they located and seized 21 kilos and 810 grams of hookah tobacco in packages that did not bear the legal labels for the harmful of smoking in Greek and Turkish, an indication that they were duty-free. The tobacco was confiscated and the owner of the premises was arrested for a flagrant offence. He was later released, after accepting the out-of-court settlement of customs offences with the payment of a sum of €8,000.

On July 9, 2024, officers of the Pafos Customs and Excise Department were notified by the Police that, following a search of the vehicle of a 50-year-old man in the Dasoudi area (near Paphos Airport), a quantity of tobacco products was found. During the inspection of the vehicle, 15 boxes of 200 cigarettes each and 950 grams of roll-your-own tobacco were found and confiscated, which did not bear the label for the harmful of smoking in Greek and Turkish, nor the security feature and the unique traceability code, indications that they were duty-free. The driver was arrested for a self-driving offence, while the vehicle was also confiscated as a means of transporting tobacco products. He was later released, after paying a sum of €1,300 for the out-of-court settlement of the offence, while the vehicle was returned to him with the payment of an additional sum of €500.

On July 12, 2024, during a baggage check of a passenger departing from Pafos Airport to London, 45 boxes of 200 cigarettes each and 3 kg and 750 grams of roll-your-own tobacco were found and confiscated, which did not bear the label for the harmful of smoking in Greek and Turkish. But neither did the security feature and unique traceability code, indications that they were duty-free. The passenger was arrested for a self-reported offence and later released after paying €4,500 for the out-of-court settlement of the offence.

On July 15, 2024, during a baggage check of 4 passengers (52, 54, 55 and 59 years old respectively), departing from Pafos Airport to London, a total of 280 boxes of 200 cigarettes each (70 boxes in the baggage of each of the 4 passengers) were detected, which were not marked for the harmful smoking in Greek and Turkish, But neither did the security feature and unique traceability code, indications that they were duty-free. The 4 passengers were arrested for offenses and on 16/7/2024 they were taken to the Paphos District Court, which ordered their detention for 3 days. They were then released, after paying €4,300 each (a total of €17,200) for the out-of-court settlement of the offences.

Finally, on July 23, 2024, during random checks at the Ayios Dometios roadblock, officers of the Department of Customs and Excise stopped a vehicle driven by a 55-year-old man for inspection. During the search of the vehicle, 13 boxes of 200 cigarettes each and 1 kg and 450 grams of roll-your-own tobacco were found and confiscated. The driver was arrested for a self-driving offence, while his vehicle was also confiscated as a means of transporting tobacco products. He was later released, after paying a sum of €1,300 for the out-of-court settlement of the offence, while the vehicle was returned to him with the payment of an additional sum of €500.

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in-cyprus

A 28-year-old Nicosia resident has been arrested in connection with a series of robberies at bakeries in the city.

The man was apprehended in the early hours of Thursday following a court warrant. He is suspected of involvement in three robberies that occurred over the past few days.

In the first incident, on July 27, a masked man threatened staff with a sharp object and stole cash from a bakery. Two similar robberies took place on July 30 and 31.

Police said they gathered enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant. The suspect is due to appear in court later today.