Wednesday, January 15, 2025

CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Press 15 January 2025



The Police are investigating a case of internet fraud, involving a 44-year-old victim.

After recent news regarding internet fraud cases, a 44-year-old man from Limassol is also a victim.

According to the complainant, last October, through a website, he agreed to rent a house in a European country. For this purpose, the complainant sent an amount of money in excess of €9,000 to a bank account indicated to him by the website in question.

However, after paying the money, the complainant lost all communication with the specific website, since it was taken down from the internet.

The Economic Crime Investigation Office of the Limassol Financial Crimes Investigation Department is investigating the case.  

In light of this case, the Police once again advise the public to be extremely careful in all their online transactions. They also call on the public to avoid purchases through unknown or suspicious websites and to prefer, for this purpose, known and reputable platforms. In any case, the public is urged to check and ensure the reliability and security of each website before proceeding with any transaction. 

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A Greek Cypriot taxi driver who was arrested yesterday in the occupied territories for "violation of a prohibited area in the first degree" and "human trafficking" was sent to the central prison of the pseudo-state, after two women were found on the hood of his vehicle, from whom he took 200 euros to transport them illegally to the occupied territories, Turkish Cypriot media report.

According to reports, the Greek Cypriot taxi driver – whose name was published – was brought to a "military court" yesterday where the "police investigator" testified that the Greek Cypriot had illegally transported two women from Nepal to the occupied territories in the early hours of January 6th through a military area near the Agios Dometios roadblock.

The two women were arrested on January 8, when they were about to leave the illegal airport of Tymbou, after it was found during the passport control that they did not have a registered "entry to the TRNC" as the pseudo-state states. The two women from Nepal were arrested and charged with illegal stay in the pseudo-state.  

The Greek Cypriot taxi driver was arrested on January 11 at the Agios Dometios roadblock and, according to what is being reported, in the "court" he allegedly confessed that he had transported the two women to the occupied territories in exchange for €200. He allegedly said that he had made a big mistake and would not do it again.

He was sent to the "central prison" where he will not stay more than a month until the case is heard

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Filenews

Members of the Limassol Police were mobilized after a fire broke out in a 32-year-old man's vehicle at dawn today.

According to police, the vehicle was parked on the east side of the parking lot of an apartment building where the 32-year-old resides.

Members of the ICF of Limassol and the Limassol Police Department went to the scene, where they cordoned off the scene, as well as an officer and members of the Fire Brigade, where they extinguished the fire. Examinations revealed that the fire was set maliciously with the use of flammable material.

The fire completely destroyed the vehicle, while minor damage was caused to a second vehicle.

The scene was placed under guard and examinations continue in broad daylight.

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A food delivery man from a third country was attacked at midnight, while he had gone to an area in Limassol for delivery.

According to the police press office, as reported by the complainant, after parking outside a park, he was approached by three young people, who came out of a nearby park, having their faces covered with hoods and wearing black clothes. One of the three youths placed a metal object in his neck, hit him with his elbow on the back and immediately fled the scene in an unknown direction.

At the same time, the other two people stole from the complainant his wallet, which included the amount of €150, they also stole his mobile phones. After the two young unknown persons stole the complainant's property, they fled the scene on foot in an eastbound direction.

At the same time, two other unknown persons, who also had their faces covered, stole the complainant's motorcycle and headed in an unknown direction.

From the attack, the complainant was not injured and did not wish to see a doctor.

Police are investigating the incident.

It is recalled that, recently, incidents of attacks against food distributors have increased alarmingly. It is recalled that an 18-year-old young man was arrested on the evening of Sunday 12 January to facilitate police investigations into two investigated cases of robberies by food distributors in Larnaca.

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A bomb explosion occurred today at dawn at the main entrance of a house in a village in Limassol. According to police, it is owned by a 34-year-old woman and had not yet been inhabited.

The explosion destroyed the door of the main entrance, while causing minor damage to the furniture of the house.

After the explosion, a pyrotechnic technician, a lieutenant and members of the Limassol ICF went to the scene for on-site examinations.

The scene was cordoned off and according to police, preliminary examinations determined that the explosion was due to the detonation of a homemade bomb, which was placed outside the house. The scene remains under guard and tests will resume later today.

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The Game and Pandia Service filed a complaint against one person for possession of iron traps.

Specifically, the Service proceeded to report a person in whose possession two iron traps were found yesterday morning.

The Game and Fauna Service, utilizing information received, proceeded to search the premises and the house of a specific person who seems to have placed iron traps for trapping hares in the area of Stavrovouni.                                                                                                                                                                                     * * * * * *                                                                                                                                                                         Cyprus Mail

The Nicosia District Court on Wednesday postponed the hearing of the case of football club Apoel’s debts to the social insurance and other funds.

The case hearing had been set over the club’s €2.3 million debt alleged to have been incurred through withholding contributions to state social insurance, redundancy, and Gesy (national healthcare) funds.

The club stands accused of deducting these amounts from employees’ paychecks without transferring the money to the government funds in question.

The case was initiated by the ministry of labour with Minister Yiannis Panayiotou naming the club on Tuesday, and stating it was being taken to court for the amount incurred during 2020-2022 but that, in fact, Apoel owes €4.35 million in total, if the period up to the present is taken into account.

The football club’s lawyer Panos Panayiotou at the start of Wednesday’s hearing asked the court for additional time to prepare his client’s response.

He said the club had requested a meeting with the social insurance services adding that the settlement of three cases was in progress.

The prosecution did not object to the defence’s request for additional time and the presiding judge set the new date for the case for March 4 at 8.30am

Panayiotou also requested that it be recorded in the minutes that the case had “taken on an unexplained scope”, following public statements issued by the labour ministry.

He pointed to the fact that the indictment on approximately half of the defendants is pending, and said that state officials ought to refrain from making public statements during ongoing legal proceedings. Presumption of innocence until guilt is proven is legally sacrosanct, he said.

Apoel President Prodromos Petrides and club executives were present at the court.

Apoel had earlier reacted with fury to the minister’s public naming of the club, and accused him of trying to “make a career” though scapegoating.

“It is unheard of that a state official, a minister no less, should publicly refer to court cases that have not even begun, and cite amounts which are not even accurate,” Apoel said on Tuesday.

The club defended its actions saying it had carried out meetings with all the relevant agencies and had prepared long term proposals for debt settlement.

The minister, for his part, responded that the law applies equally to all said “no one can shirk their responsibilities.”