Pafos Live 30 July 2025
On 29/7/2025, officers of the Customs Department in cooperation with members of the Ministry of Customs and Industry, in the context of the joint actions to prevent the importation of drugs into Cyprus, proceeded to a random inspection of maritime intra-EU cargo originating in Greece at the premises of a transport company in Limassol. The detection dogs of the Zeus and Hera Customs Department also participated in the control operation. During the inspection of the selected packages, the following goods were identified:
· 6 pallet x 21,600 pieces (total 129,600 pcs) of vials of nitric oxide (known as laughing gas), which were transported from Greece on behalf of a Cypriot company and which had been declared as "hotel equipment". The goods in question were detained by the Customs Department and the Police were immediately notified to undertake the investigation due to their competence. Their storage was temporarily arranged in a warehouse at the Limassol Customs, while the investigation of the case was undertaken by the Agios Ioannis Limassol Police Station.
· Hundreds of pieces of children's items (toys, figurines, keychains, bags, cases, children's perfumes, fake nails, magnets and other accessories) that infringe the intellectual property rights of various trademarks. The goods, which were transported from Greece on behalf of three different recipients and were declared as "Food", "Clothing" and "Accessories", were seized and will be further investigated by the Customs Department.
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Filenews
The Police arrested a 19-year-old girl, after damage to the windows of a bus in Larnaca, while a 15-year-old girl is also wanted.
According to a police briefing, the authorities proceeded to issue two arrest warrants against a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old girl in connection with causing malicious damage to two windows of a bus that was immobilized opposite the Faneromeni church.
The incident seems to have occurred yesterday morning.
The 19-year-old was located late yesterday and arrested. The minor continues to be sought. These are European women who live permanently in Cyprus
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The Police arrested a 21-year-old person yesterday, after the detection and seizure of a large amount of drugs in Nicosia.
The 21-year-old was located yesterday afternoon and was stopped by members of the Police Department, after an evaluation of information, while driving his vehicle in an area of Nicosia.
From an inspection carried out, it was found that the 21-year-old was driving without a license and safety, while he underwent a preliminary drug test with a positive indication.
Subsequently, a search was carried out with a court warrant in a house that the suspect uses as a warehouse, where cannabis weighing 6 kg and 342 grams, methamphetamine weighing about 713 grams, cocaine weighing about 93 grams, cannabis resin weighing about 984 grams, 337 handmade cigarettes with cannabis, as well as a large amount of money were found and confiscated.
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Following information from the Anti-Narcotics Service (Larnaca Division) and in cooperation with members of the Larnaca Customs, a search was carried out today in a warehouse in Limassol, where six pallets containing a total of 129,600 ampoules, with a total weight of 3,804 kg, which appear to contain nitric oxide "laughing gas", were found in a container and confiscated.
All the confiscated goods were transferred to warehouses of the Customs Department, while subsequent examinations revealed that the importer of the above products is a specific company.
The Agios Ioannis Limassol Police Station continues the examinations.
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The case of premeditated murder inside the Central Prison is unprecedented for Cypriot standards, in which the Permanent Assize Court of Nicosia found five defendants, including three prison guards, guilty.
The Permanent Assize Court of Nicosia found three prison guards, the main defendant in the case, as well as another defendant for possession and supply of narcotic substances, guilty in the case of the murder of Tansu Chidan in the Central Prison on 27 October 2022, after a court proceeding that lasted more than a year and a half.
According to the Legal Service, two of the prison guards faced charges of manslaughter by omission, as they failed to carry out the necessary checks and take a series of measures within the framework of their duties (safe guarding, taking protective measures, medical treatment), resulting in the death of Tansu Chidan.
The facts of the case are listed, according to which, on October 27, 2022, the victim called the prison guards for help, ringing the alarm bell in his cell. The two accused prison guards, according to testimony, went outside his cell and while they saw the victim injured, they neglected to take appropriate action. In a second appeal of the victim for help, they ignored the call and instead sent, through other prisoners, medical pads to the victim.
"This negligence resulted in the continued criminal behavior of the main defendant against the victim not being prevented, where, according to testimony again, he returned to the victim's cell in a rage and continued to beat the victim, inflicting the injuries that ultimately led to his death," it said.
"The culmination of the inaction and indifference of the two prison guards, according to the Assize Court, is the fact that during the process of the afternoon counting of the prisoners and while they had the duty to locate the victim, for the purposes of counting the prisoners, they did not enter his cell in order to see him and take him into account in the count. The above, despite what they had seen before, which, in addition to the counting, made it necessary to locate the victim".
The third prison guard was convicted of causing death due to a reckless, reckless or dangerous act, since, as the shift officer on that particular day and in the specific wing of the Prison, he failed to identify and deal with the danger.
As for the main defendant in the case, he was convicted of premeditated murder, since, according to the position of the Legal Service of the Republic, as the Prosecuting Authority, with an unprecedented but also inconceivable for the human mind, for about 48 hours, mercilessly beat the victim, without any hesitation or rotation, in contrast to an escalation of the blows. until he brings about his death. An acceptable fact by the Assize Court was the intention of the main defendant to kill the victim from the day before the murder, when he had already set things in motion, locating another of his fellow prisoners to undertake the murder on his behalf.
The Court of Assize set August 13, 2025 as the date for speeches to mitigate the sentence of the defendants.
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The Police carried out an operation to combat drug trafficking in a park in Agios Athanasios Limassol, following information that young people who were possibly trafficking illegal substances were at the scene.
Members of the Anti-Narcotics Service (YKAN) and the Limassol OPE rushed to the scene. Upon their arrival, three persons attempted to escape on foot. Despite the chase, taking advantage of the darkness and the morphology of the terrain near a cliff, they managed to disappear.
Authorities located three vehicles at the scene, as well as significant quantities of drugs. About 3 kilos of dry cannabis plant matter, 79 grams of cocaine, 100 ecstasy tablets and cash worth €1,790. Following examinations, the Police identified three people aged 24, 23 and 20, against whom arrest warrants were issued. Despite investigations, they have not yet been identified and are being sought.
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A 25-year-old man from Australia was sentenced to 12 years in prison today (30/7) by the Larnaca Permanent Court of Assize for importing 19 kilograms of cannabis that would be available on the Cypriot market.
The young man was found guilty after his own admission in a case of importing drugs for the purpose of supplying to other people. Before the Court he had stated that he was recruited to bring the drugs to Cyprus for a fee, which he would receive after delivering the drugs. As he claimed, he was facing financial problems, due to his mother's health problems.
The accused was arrested on June 4, 2025 at Larnaca Airport, when he arrived from Thailand via a flight from the United Arab Emirates. After an evaluation of information, officers of the Customs Department, in cooperation with police officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stopped him and during the radiodiagnostic test of his luggage, there was an indication of drug transport. During the physical inspection that followed, 44 nylon packages containing cannabis weighing 19 kg were found.
Imposing the sentence, the Court made special reference to the great surge in drug cases as well as to the large quantity that the 25-year-old transported to Cyprus.
The case was handled on behalf of the Prosecution by Antonis Antoniou.
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Cyprus Mail
Two men, aged 64 and 50, remain in custody as part of a police investigation into an attempted arson and the use of explosives in Aradippou on July 21.
The Larnaca district court on Monday extended their remand for an additional five days to aid ongoing police inquiries.
According to the police, arrest warrants were issued following investigations and the analysis of CCTV footage. On July 23, members of the Larnaca CID carried out an operation in Limassol, resulting in the arrest of the two suspects, both Cypriot nationals.
Searches were conducted at the suspects’ homes and other premises, where various items were seized as evidence and sent for forensic examination.
The case relates to an incident that occurred shortly after midnight July 21, when an explosion occurred in a vehicle belonging to 74-year-old man, though it was reportedly used exclusively by a 49-year-old woman. The car was parked in the lot of a Larnaca apartment building at the time of the blast.
Police and fire services officers responded swiftly to the scene, extinguishing a fire that broke out following the explosion. Preliminary investigations suggest that a homemade explosive device was used.
A third arrest warrant has been issued for another individual who is currently wanted in connection with the case.
The suspects were initially remanded shortly after their arrest and appeared again before Larnaca district court, which approved the extension of their detention.
Police investigations are ongoing.
