Pafos Live 19 July 2025
An extremely serious case of poaching of hares was reported by members of the Hunting Service at midnight.
Specifically, game wardens, during their scheduled patrol, last night in the area of the community of Astromeritis, spotted a vehicle moving suspiciously in fields and from it gunshots were heard and a headlamp was being used.
Three patrol cars of the Service were immediately mobilized to stop the above vehicle and after it was approached, a signal was made to the driver of the suspicious vehicle to stop for a check without obeying. A pursuit followed and around 00:20 the vehicle was stopped at the Atsas location, after previously hitting an electricity pole and then colliding with a service vehicle without fortunately any serious injuries to anyone.
The suspicious vehicle was occupied by three persons from the Limassol district, two of whom have repeatedly engaged our Service for similar offences. It is noted that these persons used to post photos and videos on social media, in which they presented illegally hunted game.
During the on-the-spot check, two freshly killed hares, a shotgun, two manual headlights (as well as one permanently installed in the vehicle), seven hunting dogs (of which only three bore a marked number) and a number of full cartridges were found and confiscated in the suspect vehicle. A third hare was found on the route that the suspicious vehicle had followed, during its attempt to escape.
This incident highlights once again the very serious effects that poaching causes on the natural environment and wildlife of Cyprus.
The Game Service reiterates its firm position of zero tolerance to any form of violation of the law and assures that it will continue its controls and patrols to prevent and combat such phenomena.
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Today and around 0245, after information, members of the Ayia Napa Police Station located on the Larnaca-Ayia Napa highway near the exit of the village of Sotira, a vehicle driven by a 36-year-old man from the Nicosia District, which they stopped for a check.
The 36-year-old underwent a preliminary alcohol test in which it was found that he had an alcohol content of 162μg instead of 22μg%, which is the limit allowed by law.
Subsequently, he was transferred to the Ayia Napa Police Station, where he underwent a final alcohol test with a reading of 109μg% instead of 22μg%. The 36-year-old was arrested and detained.
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A coordinated operation at a premises in Paralimni, was carried out yesterday morning, after an evaluation of information, by members of the Anti-Narcotics Service (Famagusta Team), the Anti-Intellectual Property and Illegal Bets Branch of the Cybercrime Sub-Directorate, as well as officials of the Pharmaceutical and Health Services.
Specifically, a search was carried out on the basis of a court warrant at a premises in Paralimni where 12 packages/products containing the substance cannabidiol (CBD), for which there is no marketing authorization in the Republic of Cyprus, 61 packages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as 213 products containing dry plant matter, were found and confiscated.
All the findings were taken for further scientific examinations, while the 25-year-old person in charge of the premises in question was arrested for flagrant offenses.
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Yesterday around 6 p.m., the Police received information about a road accident on the Larnaca - Dhekelia road. Members of the Oroklini Police Station rushed to the scene, where they located two vehicles that suffered minor damage.
The drivers of the two vehicles did not suffer any injuries, while in a preliminary alcohol test to which they were subjected, it was found that one of the two drivers, aged 41, had an alcohol content of 104μg% instead of 22μg%, which is the limit allowed by law.
Subsequently, he was transferred to the Oroklini Police Station, where he underwent a final alcohol test with a reading of 130μg% instead of 22μg%. The 41-year-old was arrested and detained.
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It was reported yesterday morning by a 76-year-old resident of Limassol that, on the same day, unknown persons stole his car, which was parked in the parking lot of his house.
In the context of the investigation of the case, the specific vehicle was found being driven into an open area by an unknown person who, as soon as he noticed the members of the Police, tried to escape. In this attempt, he crashed into the police vehicle and then tried to escape by driving recklessly and dangerously.
The members of the Police noticed that the door of the luggage compartment of the vehicle in question was open and a bicycle was inside.
This particular vehicle was followed by the members of the Police, who signalled to the driver to stop but he did not obey the instructions, continuing to drive recklessly and dangerously, endangering human lives, while at some point, the bicycle that was in the luggage compartment of the vehicle, fell on the road.
During the route followed by the unknown man, two other minor accidents with material damage were caused.
At some point on the road, the unknown man lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed into the wall of a house where he was immobilized, while immediately afterwards he got out of the car and tried to escape on foot. However, he was stopped by the members of the Police and arrested for flagrant offenses.
From the examinations that followed, it was found that he was a 22-year-old resident of Limassol who was detained.
Under interrogation, he allegedly admitted guilt for the aforementioned offenses, while as far as the possession of the bicycle is concerned, he gave some allegations that are being investigated.
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Filenews
The Police recommend caution to the public, following a new report of fraud and an attempt to steal money from a bank account.
Specifically, a 62-year-old man complained earlier today, to the Nicosia TAE, that in the previous days, after he published on an online website, an advertisement for the sale of one of his cameras, he was contacted through an online chat service, by an unknown person, who was interested, as he told him, to buy the camera.
The unknown buyer sent the 62-year-old an electronic link and asked the 62-year-old to accept payment for the purchase of the camera, through the link. The link referred to a website, which resembled a courier company's website. On the website there was a field where it was requested to enter the bank card details, in order to proceed with the relevant payment.
Before the 62-year-old proceeded with any entry of his data, he contacted the courier company for verification and was told that the company does not provide such a service. After the 62-year-old found out that it was an attempted fraud, he filed a complaint with the Police.
As a measure to protect against such online scams, the Police draw the attention of citizens, especially when they receive messages containing electronic links. It is recommended that the public avoid following such electronic links and that they never mention or register their personal and banking details on unknown websites.
It is also recommended that, prior to any online transaction or payment, they proceed to relevant verification, through the disclosed communication channels of the organizations or companies that may be involved.
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The Police arrested ten people today, after conducting a major operation in Larnaca and raiding 83 apartments.
In detail, the Police announcement states:
A new large-scale policing and control operation was carried out today in Larnaca by the Police, in cooperation with the Municipality of Larnaca and the Fire Department. On behalf of the Police, members of the Larnaca Police Directorate, the Anti-Narcotics Service – YKAN, the Aliens and Immigration Service – YAM and the Green Line Surveillance and Migration Flows Sub-Directorate participated.
This action is part of the actions decided after a meeting that took place recently in Larnaca, in the presence of the Minister of Justice, Mr. Marios Hartsiotis.
The coordinated policing and control action began at 6:00 a.m. on Friday and ended at 2:00 p.m., focusing on specific apartment complexes, in areas of the city, where 83 apartments were checked. A total of 107 persons were checked.
As a result of the police checks, nine (9) persons, third-country nationals, who were found to be illegally in the territory of the Republic, as well as the arrest of one (1) person, pursuant to a court warrant, issued after his failure to appear before the Court.
As part of traffic inspections, 14 complaints were made for various traffic violations, while in the context of road policing inspections, two persons were identified using the Automatic Vehicle License Plate Recognition System (ANPR), against whom court fine warrants were pending. After paying the relevant warrants, they were released.
The infringement complaints made concerned in particular, three complaints for driving a vehicle without an insurance certificate, one complaint for driving without a driver's licence, two complaints for driving a vehicle without a certificate of suitability – MOT, and two complaints for driving a vehicle without a registration licence. There were three more complaints for not wearing a seat belt, one complaint for using a mobile phone while driving and two complaints for violations related to the use of personal mobility devices – e-scooters.
On their part, the officials of the Municipality of Larnaca and the members of the Fire Service found violations in matters of nuisance and security, which will be dealt with due to their competence.
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He found the 61-year-old accountant and her husband guilty of a series of charges facing the Limassol Permanent Assize Court.
The accountant faced hundreds of charges related to the offences of forgery and circulation of a forged document. Specifically, from 2017 to May 2020, he forged cheques from banks and companies of the group in which he worked. The cheques had been issued in the name of various persons, which the defendant endorsed as the alleged beneficiary and put into circulation. In addition, he faced the offense of forgery of money transfer forms and salary and contribution statements, and specifically, that during the above period, in order to defraud, he forged 198 money transfer forms from the company to the accounts of another company.
He also faced the charge of theft by secretaries and servants, in violation of Articles 255 and 268 of Chapter 268. 154 and specifically that between 01/2017 and 05/2020, while he was an employee of the group of companies, he stole a sum of money of approximately €3.5 million, property of that company. In addition, he faces the charge of false accounts for the purpose of fraud, since, while he was an employee of the company, he destroyed files and documents related to the group's accounting books. He also faced the charge of money laundering, as he acquired and possessed the amount of €3.5 million, knowing that it constituted income from the commission of a criminal offence.
Defendant 2, the husband of the accused, was also charged with the offences of forgery, circulation of a forged document, theft and money laundering.
The case was brought to a hearing and the Prosecution, in order to prove the case, called 34 witnesses for the prosecution. The Court of Assize ruled that there was a prima facie case against the defendants and called them to an apology. The defendant chose to make an innocent statement, while her husband testified under oath. In addition, 12 defense witnesses testified.
The position of the Prosecution was that the defendant stole large sums of money from the group of companies, which was made possible due to her capacity as an accounting officer. Specifically, from January 2017 to May 2020, an amount of €3.5 million was stolen, which concerned the receipts of kiosks managed by one of the group's companies. He forged cheques from other companies of the group, issued in the name of third parties - mainly employees of the group - and money transfer forms.
In relation to defendant 2, it was found that he was the person who usually received the cash register of one of the kiosks and that he proceeded to deposit cheques, issued to third parties, to the account of another company, in the amount of €10,700.
The Court of Assize Court, with its decision yesterday – which numbers more than 360 pages – concludes that the Prosecution, represented by the Senior Lawyer of the Republic, Mikaella Pasiardi, managed to prove the case against both defendants. It is noted that the amount that was finally confirmed to have been stolen reaches €3.2 million.
The Court of Assize set a new trial for the mitigation and imposition of a sentence at the end of the month and ordered that both defendants be detained as defendants in the Central Prison.
The case was investigated by a team of investigators from the Financial Crime Investigation Office of the Limassol TAE. The investigation began in early May 2020 and due to the seriousness and nature of the case, it was registered before the Assize Court in September of the same year. The multi-page indictment initially included 870 charges.
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The Customs Department proceeded with the seizure of goods at the premises of a transport company in Limassol. Among other things, 1,798 Labubu "monkey" figures were identified, as well as 1,600 torches and other fireworks.
In an announcement, it is stated that, on 18/7/2025, officials of the Customs Department in cooperation with members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the context of the joint actions to prevent the importation of drugs into Cyprus, proceeded to a random check of maritime intra-EU cargo originating in Greece at the premises of a transport company in Limassol. The detection dogs of the Customs Department, Zeus and Ben, also participated in the control operation.
However, within the grouped cargo of the container, the following goods were located and confiscated:
- 1,600 torches and 672 pieces of hand-held fireworks (octagons), which were transported from Greece without a relevant permit for the possession and transport of explosives. The cargo had been sent from private to private and declared as "Personal Items", while the boxes were camouflaged with black opaque nylon tape, which covered the flammable material label. This action endangered both the rest of the cargo of the container and the ship transporting the goods to Cyprus.
- 9 boxes containing a total of 1,798 figures – keychains and 1,984 paper packages that violated the intellectual property rights of the trademark "Labubu". The goods were transported from Greece in the name of a Cypriot company and were declared as "Clothing Items".
