Filenews 2 December 2024 - by Dora Christodoulou
The phenomenon of vehicle thefts from many areas of Pafos, even in central and crowded places, has recently taken on serious proportions. The most curious thing is that according to the complaints made to the Police, the thefts even concern "wrecks", a fact which, as the officials explain, is explained by the increase in the purchase of old cars by foreigners and which are often in need of spare parts of every condition and quality.
Typical cases were recently recorded on a street behind Kykkos Lyceum in Paphos, where on the same night two vehicles were stolen, despite the existence of many closed circuits in the area, but also the case of an owner who had left his car parked for months in an open area of Paphos, resulting when he went to pick it up a few days ago to find it literally halved. Strangers dismantled it and took most of its parts, apparently to sell or reuse.
These cases are not unrelated, according to competent sources, to the recent allegations that thefts and vandalism of cars in Paphos are related to the phenomenon of traffic on the roads of many old vehicles bought by foreigners. Intervention on the issue was made by the MP of Pafos of DIKO, Chrysanthos Savvides, who points out that too many old cars usually driven by foreigners, have created the need for cheap spare parts.
These spare parts, however, on the one hand, are not sufficient in the market, due to the many damages that cars-wrecks constantly present, and on the other hand, genuine spare parts are clearly more expensive than used-stolen ones. They therefore easily find buyers, i.e. the owners of such vehicles, who are unable to spend a lot of money on repair or maintenance. This is why they own an old car.
Mr. Savvides called on the state to increase the city's police force in order for the Directorate to be able to respond to the many needs that arise due to the increase in population from the continuous migration wave of recent years.
