Pafos Live 7 December 2024
A large quantity of duty-free tobacco products were found by members of the Police in the area of Morphou and confiscated. For examination purposes, a 25-year-old man was arrested and detained, with the Department of Customs and Excise taking over the case due to jurisdiction.
Specifically, at around 4.30 yesterday afternoon, after suspicions were raised that a car driver might be transporting duty-free tobacco products from the occupied areas of the Republic to the free areas, through unapproved crossing points, members of the Police stopped the 25-year-old driver, who was driving his vehicle on the Nicosia-Troodos road, in the area of the community of Koutrafa, for checking.
After police officers found a large quantity of duty-free tobacco products in the car, they proceeded to arrest the 25-year-old. The 25-year-old was transported with his vehicle to the offices of the Customs Department in Astromeritis, where it was found that in his car, there were 232 boxes of ten packs of cigarettes, of various brands, 130 boxes of ten packets of heated tobacco products, and 37 packages with a total of 295 packets of tobacco.
The tobacco products, as well as the 25-year-old's car, were confiscated by the Department of Customs. The 25-year-old was taken into custody, with the Department of Customs and Excise tasked with continuing the examinations.
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The Police, following a coordinated operation, arrested two persons, aged 20 and 22, who appear to be involved in the use of credit cards stolen in another European country, which they used in Cyprus, taking clothing, electronic devices, mobile phones and other goods.
These persons were arrested on court warrants last Friday, November 29 and remained in custody, pursuant to a court order, for the purpose of investigating a case relating to offences relating to the Combating Fraud and Counterfeiting by Non-Cash Payments, Money Laundering, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, Obtaining Goods by False Representation, Fraud and Theft.
According to the evidence that has emerged from the investigation of the case, the two suspects arrived in Cyprus together with a third person and made a number of transactions through the stolen credit cards in the districts of Nicosia, Larnaca and Famagusta, with which they stole items of high value. The case was registered for trial before a Court. On instructions from the Court, the two defendants will remain in custody until the next hearing. A third suspect, aged 21, against whom a judicial arrest warrant has been issued, is wanted.
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Filenews
Police in Larnaca arrested a 25-year-old man who allegedly spray-painted a slogan at a roundabout in the Famagusta stadium area.
The 25-year-old was arrested for a flagrant offence and causing malicious damage and was taken into custody for police examinations.
Specifically, according to the police, after 3:00 in the morning "they spotted a group of 15 youths in the area of Famagusta stadium doing graffiti on walls".
When police arrived at the scene for checks, "about 50 youths gathered who were wearing hoods but were not committing any offences. On a street, police spotted a 25-year-old young man spray-painting a slogan on the roundabout and he was arrested for causing malicious damage to property."
The 25-year-old was "arrested for a flagrant offence and taken into custody for police questioning".
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Documents, data and information affecting dozens of trapped buyers in Limassol are being investigated by the Police, more than three years after the submission of the relevant complaint by the lawyer of this group of citizens. The case concerns the way in which a particular liquidator acted during the liquidation process of companies he undertook, with the lawyer complaining to both the Limassol Police Headquarters, the Chief of Police and the official receiver and superintendent, information and documents, receipts and purchase certificates, which, according to him, are serious indications of deception of dozens of families over 30 years.
In fact, if the lawyer's allegations are confirmed by the investigation conducted by the Police, then the case will take on much greater dimensions in the future.
The initial complaint of lawyer Sofronis Sofroniou against the alleged liquidator was made in April 2021. Since then, according to him, the complaint has been pending, which is why last October when the new Chief of Police took office, he sent him a letter asking him to intervene. In November, Mr. Sofroniou sent a second letter to the Chief of Police, submitting additional information and documents concerning the liquidator's actions to an additional number of companies he had undertaken.
As the lawyer stated in his complaint, the actions of this liquidator have resulted in his clients seeing their properties, which they had paid off, some at a time that did not justify mortgaging them, being sold to others or getting involved in endless court proceedings with the Cyprus Asset Management Company (KEDIPES) and being at risk of seeing their property auctioned every day.
Among the documents submitted to the Police and to the Chief himself by the lawyer of the affected citizens, are receipts and documents, according to him with obvious signs of forgery, purchase and sale documents in which the liquidator himself presents himself as a buyer and seller with a witness member of his family. It also includes receipts of debt repayment by his clients, as well as evidence showing that the liquidator "appears to have collected, embezzled and embezzled money and real estate from at least two companies, collecting sums approaching one million euros". The lawyer also points out to the Chief of Police that if the investigation proceeds then he is in possession of additional evidence and documents which he will submit.
Mr. Sofroniou complains that for one of the two companies, "there have been 11 mortgages of real estate and collection of this money from the complainant liquidator." He also claims that "the person in question bought properties for himself at unrealistically low prices and did not deposit money into the mortgage debt of the liquidating company, letting the debts he created more than double. As a result, today KEDIPES, which manages the uncollected loans of the then Co-operative Savings Bank, proceeds with property auction procedures, with affected buyers entering into legal battles in order to secure the properties they have already spent."
As Mr. Sofroniou notes in his letters to the Chief of Police, the investigation he conducted revealed serious indications that "for 17 properties, the complained liquidator received the money, but the 11 loan agreements were never paid." In fact, several of these properties were sold to third parties, and the liquidator, according to the complaint, allegedly recollected the sale price.
From the documents in the possession of the lawyer, which he handed over to the Police and to the official receiver and superintendent, it appears that apartments and shops have been resold by the two companies, with the buyer being a limited company and the seller being the liquidator himself. In one case, for which relevant documents (receipts) were also found, the liquidator in question appears to be both seller and buyer of the property.
Female cancer patient found without apartment
One case of property complaining is tragic. According to the lawyer, his client was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer and has now found herself without an apartment, since it was sold to a third person with a fake sales document. It is impressive that the sales document, dated 30/4/1998, lists the specific apartment as a sold property, with full cadastral data and a separate title deed. However, in that year the apartment building was still under construction and the then title deed lists the property as a plot. According to the complainant's lawyer, it would de facto have been impossible for the purchaser to have known about the cadastral data in 1998.
It is noteworthy that on the sales document, in the part "sale price", there is the symbol of the euro, while above it, handwritten are written (L.K.) Cyprus Pounds. The lawyer emphasizes that in the same sentence the "euro" is recorded in full as a monetary transaction made in 1998, while the euro circulated in Cyprus in 2008. It claims that the sales document is forged and the product of a possible conspiracy by the parties to draw it up and circulate it, in order to deceive creditors and the competent authorities (Court, Land Registry and Tax Department). Among other things, he points out that if the alleged buyer had actually bought the apartment in 1998 and paid it off, she would not have waited 23 years to get a title deed.
The investigation is advanced, says the Police, only the day before yesterday the lawyer was informed
In relation to the obstruction reported by the lawyer by the prosecuting authorities and his complaint that due attention and importance were not given, in a communication that "F" had with a reliable source, it was pointed out to us that the investigation of the case is at the stage of completion. Statements have been received and within the next 10 days the case file will be forwarded to the Legal Service for instructions. They also explained to us that the examiner of the case had been absent from the service for a long time due to a serious surgery he had undergone.
On behalf of the lawyer, however, we were informed that he received a letter from the Limassol Police Directorate on December 5 informing him that the appointment of the investigator who will investigate the allegations has been forwarded.
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A huge trafficking ring against the backdrop of sham marriages in Cyprus, so that foreign persons can secure legal residence status in the Republic, but also in Europe, as spouses of European citizens, has been dismantled by the prosecuting authorities of Cyprus in cooperation with Europol.
The victims of the well-established ring are vulnerable women from Romania, who were identified by mediators and brought to Cyprus, promising them that by marrying people from Cyprus, they would secure financial support, make easy money and provide them with a better life. Of course, what one of the members of the ring presented to them was far from reality, since the victims came to the Republic, went to Town Halls where the sham weddings took place and then returned back to their country of origin. For their trip and sham wedding, the circuit paid for their tickets and accommodation while giving them a small monetary fee.
This is a big and high-profile case, with the Anti-Trafficking Office having made two arrests in the previous period. The two men, one from Pakistan and one from India, were brought yesterday before the Nicosia District Court, where a case was registered against them.
As Filenews is aware, the representative of the Prosecution, Elena Constantinou, requested that the two defendants remain under trial in the Central Prison, until the trial of the case, which was set for December 17. The representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office based her request on the risk of absconding from justice by the two defendants and referred the Court to the witness material, but also to the testimonies of the complaining traffickers, who mentioned how the defendants exploited them to defraud the Republic.
In today's (6/12) decision, the Court ruled that the two defendants must remain in custody, agreeing with the Prosecution that the risk of absconding is visible, since they do not have close ties with the Republic.
The trading circuit goes back years to 2019. A woman who was recently arrested in Belgium is said to be the person who identified the victims and after they travelled to Cyprus, they proceeded to arrange marriages of convenience in Town Halls. This person, along with the first accused, allegedly recruited vulnerable women of European origin in order to obtain registration of third-country nationals in the Republic, as spouses of European citizens.
After information came to the hands of the Police, a coordinated investigation was carried out and the victims were identified, who with their testimonies revealed the ring. There are three female victims in the case, in three separate cases with the same people involved.
Other people are also involved in the case, who are currently wanted with investigations extending to other European countries. It is noteworthy that the woman arrested in Belgium is expected to be extradited soon to Cypriot authorities.
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A 19-year-old was driving at breakneck speed on the Limassol-Nicosia motorway, near Kornos.
According to police, the young man was stopped by members of the Traffic Police after he was caught driving at a speed of 182 kilometers.
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Members of the Limassol Police arrested three people, men aged 35, 36 and 55, last night to investigate cases of theft of motorcycles, mopeds, electric bicycles, and other property. The cases are being investigated by the ICF of Limassol and the Limassol City Police Station.
Specifically, members of the Police, on Friday afternoon, located the 35-year-old suspect in an area in Limassol and proceeded to arrest him, pursuant to a court warrant, which was issued in the context of investigating a case of theft of a wallet, containing the amount of €100, bank cards and three identity cards. The theft according to the evidence under investigation was committed shortly before noon on Wednesday, 04 December, at a premises in Limassol.
At the spot where the 35-year-old was found yesterday, there was a motorcycle, as well as three electric bicycles. According to the owner of the motorcycle, it was stolen in November in Limassol, while the three electric bicycles were also identified as stolen property, after their theft had been reported to the Police in Limassol, between December, 2023 and September, 2024.
A second motorcycle, with falsified identification, was also found at the scene. As it was later found, it was a moped, 49 cc, worth €2,000, the theft of which was reported to the Police in Limassol on October 25.
For the possession of the stolen moped, evidence emerged against the 55-year-old suspect, who according to the investigation allegedly bought it from the third suspect, a 36-year-old man. Judicial arrest warrants were issued against the 55-year-old and the 36-year-old, under which they were arrested last night.
The three suspects were taken into custody for police questioning.
