CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Live 17 April 2025

A team of the Limassol Traffic Police stopped a motor vehicle for a check, by the weighing station in Episkopi. During the inspection carried out on both the driver and the vehicle, a cardboard box was found which contained a large number of tobacco products, which did not bear health hazard markings in Greek and Turkish, an indication that they were duty-free. In addition, packaged bundles of €37,450 and 35 Turkish lira were found in the driver's possession. The driver was arrested for flagrant offenses and both he and the vehicle were transferred to the Limassol Customs.

Officers of the Customs Department seized 50 boxes of 200 cigarettes each, 9 packs of 20 cigarettes each and 3 kilograms of tobacco for rolled cigarettes, as well as the vehicle. In addition, the aforementioned amount of money was withheld.

The driver of the vehicle requested an out-of-court settlement of the offences against the amount of €7500, which was accepted by the Deputy Director of the Customs Department and was released. His vehicle was returned with the payment of a return amount of €500.

The Customs Department continues to investigate the source of the seized cash.

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Pafos Press

Police in Larnaca arrested a 34-year-old man. 

Around 8.20pm yesterday, the Police received information that in a parking lot in Larnaca, an unknown man hit a woman and then forcibly put her in a specific car and left the area.

Police investigation revealed that the suspect is a 34-year-old resident of Larnaca. Police officers went to his home, where they found both him and the woman. When the police officers entered, the 34-year-old attacked them, resulting in his arrest for a flagrant offense.

He is expected to appear in court today. He is being investigated for, among other things, the offenses of kidnapping, common assault, causing malicious damage and assault on a police officer.

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Filenews

The 38-year-old driver of the vehicle was arrested, under a court warrant, who last night was involved in a fatal traffic collision with a 34-year-old food delivery man as a victim.

According to information from Filenews, the 38-year-old interrogated after his arrest, claimed that his unfortunate delivery man stopped his way.

His allegations, of course, are being investigated by the members of the Limassol Traffic Police, who are waiting to receive and study closed circuit surveillance from the scene of the tragedy.

It is recalled that, yesterday, in an alcohol test, the driver was found negative. However, the preliminary test for drugs was positive.

In his statements, the deputy head of the Limassol Traffic Police, Emilios Kafas, said that the accident happened around 22:30 at the intersection of Omonia and Paphos streets, when an electric bicycle collided with a private vehicle. From the fierce collision, the cyclist was fatally injured and was transferred to the Limassol General Hospital, where his death was confirmed.

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The Police arrested an 18-year-old, as he was found carrying firecrackers.

According to the authorities, around 3:30 a.m. in an area of Nicosia, a motorcycle in which two 18-year-olds were riding was stopped for checking.

In the possession of one, 36 firecrackers were found and confiscated. The 18-year-old was arrested on the spot and then released.

He is expected to be charged at a later stage.

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The two young men, 17 and 18 years old, who were arrested yesterday and face heavy charges in connection with an incident last Sunday, in which hooded men set fire to garbage cans in Aradippou, causing a disturbance, will spend Easter in detention centers.

The two were brought on the morning of Holy Wednesday before the Larnaca District Court, which ordered their five-day detention. They are suspected of conspiracy to commit a felony and misdemeanor, unlawful assembly, rioting, illegal possession and use of explosives, causing malicious damage, disturbing the peace and causing concern. The two were arrested after a video posted on the internet, with police looking for other people.

The Police were informed about the illegal action of the young people in the early hours of last Sunday, when neighbours reported that unknown hooded men were setting fires and causing explosions in garbage cans near a high school in Aradippou. Members of the Police went to the area and found five bins burning.

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In a trial before the Permanent Assize Court of Nicosia, which will convene on May 23, Kostas Patsalidis, who is facing charges for serious offences of the Criminal Code, was referred this morning.

The Police filed an indictment against him, which contains, among other things, charges relating to conspiracy to commit a felony, publication of false news, impersonation, etc.

The 45-year-old, who is associated with the "80" group, which appeared to defend the rights of people with problematic loan agreements, on the basis of the philosophy of the American "sovereign citizens" movement, appeared before the Nicosia District Court, flanked by several people.

Following the Attorney General's written consent not to conduct a preliminary investigation, the Court referred the accused to trial on 23 May. Until then, he will remain in custody. A second person from Greece is also accused of the same case, who has also been remanded in custody.

It is noted that after the first complaints from citizens, Patsalidis, known from his posts on tik tok, was searched for without being located and then an arrest warrant was issued against him. Eventually, in the territory of British Bases, he was found in a house in the area of Episkopi – Curium and then handed over to the authorities of the Republic.

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Two young people, aged 19 and 22 respectively, are now facing serious charges in connection with the attack on a 16-year-old boy on April 5, near a church in the area of Monovoliko in Limassol.

The two young men were arrested in the previous days and brought before the Court, which ordered their detention for six days. Today, the case has been registered in the Court and the two defendants face the offences of conspiracy to commit a felony and grievous bodily harm against the minor complainant.

The reason behind the brutal beating of the minor seems to have been a misunderstanding among the young people, but the exact causes are not clear.

The case reached the hands of the Police after a complaint, made the day after the attack, by the minor's father. The incident occurred on the evening of April 5, around 22:30, when the 16-year-old was with his friends in a field, in the area of Monovoliko, near a church.

According to the complaint, unknown persons attacked the minor, resulting in serious facial injuries. He was transferred to a private hospital, where he was detained for hospitalization, as he suffered a fracture in the cheekbone.

It should be noted that the authorities have not proceeded with an official update on the developments of the case, such as the arrest of the two young men, but also the current process of its registration in the Court.

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The Police made a second arrest in connection with the case of the detection of a pistol and firecrackers, in Nicosia, yesterday.

He is a 24-year-old resident of Nicosia, who was arrested under a court warrant, to facilitate the investigations, after testimony emerged against him.

For the same case, a 24-year-old man is already under eight-day detention, in whose house a pistol and more than 370 firecrackers were found on April 14.

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Police investigations will be extended to people outside the Central Prison in relation to the official documents found in the home of a prison guard, who is in custody to facilitate the investigations.

The recording of the items detained by the Police and found during a search at the home of a prison staff member in the context of another case involving the illegal sale of items by a prisoner to other prisoners, continues by members of the TAE Headquarters, while at the same time they are being evaluated.

Among the documents are, according to information from "F" and classified and related to letters or notes from the Police and the Prison Directorate that they exchanged on various cases.

Personal items that were given after various events have also been identified. DVDs are also included for which their content will be examined. All documents relate to a specific period and according to our information, it is examined, among other things, whether their theft has been reported.

The documents detained by the Police will also be examined to see if they are part of the Central Prison archive, which should have been kept inside the prison and not in the home of a prison guard. For the case, it is estimated that former prison directors will be called to testify about what they left and what they found when they took over, as well as members of the prison management to see under what conditions these documents were moved out of prison.

The Police, as reported to the court last Thursday where the suspected prison guard was arrested, are investigating offenses concerning: Abuse of power, violation of official secrecy, requests of the Personal Data Protection Law, theft by a public official, illegal possession of property. His lawyer did not raise an objection and so he was placed under 8-day detention.

On the matter, it is expected that the prison guard himself will be called upon to report the conditions under which the prison documents were found in his home, while it will be clear whether on Easter Tuesday the investigating authorities will request the renewal of his detention or act differently. This member of the Prison is under three-month suspension in connection with the alleged corruption case being investigated against him.

For the same case, a convict and his wife are in custody, with the relevant decree expiring tomorrow, when they will clarify what the intentions of the Police will be. It is noted that in a letter sent to the media by the prison guard's lawyers (dated April 14) they state that "their client categorically declares his innocence and that the convict's allegations (regarding the illegal sale of products in a cell) not only do not correspond to reality and constitute blatant lies, but were used for other purposes by specific persons, without further investigation, although there have been before the authorities since February 7 something that he will talk about at a later stage".

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On 8/4/2025, Officers of the Investigation Branch of the Customs Department, during a search of a premises in Limassol, found a large quantity of hookah tobacco, in packages that did not bear the label for the harmfulness of smoking in Greek and Turkish, an indication that they were duty-free.

Specifically, several packages of various brands of tobacco for hookah, with a total weight of 28 kg and 925 grams, were found and confiscated carefully hidden in the premises. The owner of the premises was arrested for flagrant offenses and later released, after his proposal for an out-of-court settlement of the offenses with the payment of the sum of €12,000 was accepted.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The seized quantity was transferred to the Limassol Customs and upon completion of the investigation it will be destroyed in a licensed unit.