Pafos Live 20 August 2025
A large quantity of cannabis was found and confiscated around 11.50 last night at Larnaca Airport, after collecting and evaluating evidence, in the context of the cooperation of the Ministry of Transport and Customs Authorities.
The drugs were found after a check on the luggage of a 39-year-old woman, who had arrived at Larnaca Airport from a foreign country.
Specifically, 40 packages containing a quantity of cannabis, gross weight of 22 kg and approximately 546 grams, were found and confiscated.
The 39-year-old was arrested to facilitate the investigations, as part of the investigation of the case.
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A case of theft of a sum of money over €249,000 is being investigated by the Police, who proceeded to the arrest of a 48-year-old woman. The 48-year-old was arrested yesterday afternoon, pursuant to a court warrant, and was detained for the purpose of investigating the case.
According to the data under investigation and the complaint submitted to the Limassol TAE by the Director of a company in Limassol, after an audit carried out by an independent auditor on the company's accounting books, it was found that, for the period between January, 2011 and May, 2025, there is a cash deficit in the company's coffers, amounting to €249,824.
As part of the investigation of the case, a court arrest warrant was issued against the 48-year-old, who was arrested around 3.00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.
The case is being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Bureau of the Limassol TAE.
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Filenews
Police officers at Paphos Airport, arrested a 36-year-old man, upon his arrival in Cyprus,who is wanted by the Polish authorities in connection with a kidnapping case. The 36-year-old was taken into custody for the purposes of initiating legal proceedings for his extradition to the Polish authorities.
The 36-year-old is wanted by the Polish authorities for the purposes of serving a one-year prison sentence imposed on him in October 2020, in connection with a kidnapping case and unlawful detention, offences which were committed in Poland. The Polish authorities issued a European arrest warrant against him. Shortly before 2.30 yesterday afternoon, the 36-year-old arrived at Paphos Airport, on a flight from another European country. After a passport check by a member of the Police, at the arrivals area, revealed that the 36-year-old was wanted by the Polish authorities, he was arrested under the European warrant and detained for the purpose of initiating the judicial process of his extradition to the Polish authorities. The Paphos TAE continues the examinations.
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A 37-year-old man voluntarily presented himself at the Episkopi Police Station, who was wanted in connection with an investigated theft case.
According to the evidence under investigation, on August 03, 2025, while a man was entering a store in Kolossi, in the Limassol district, an envelope containing a sum of money of €600 fell from his pocket to the floor. A second man, who immediately visited the store, picked this up from the floor and stole the envelope with the money it contained.
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After several years, Larnaca is again in the crosshairs of organized crime, which seems to be linked to at least five serious beatings in just one month, which causes a big headache for the Police, but also a great concern for the city authorities.
From July 14 to August 15, three attempted murders were committed (one was accompanied by car arson), shots were fired at a 25-year-old's vehicle, while unknown persons set fire to the car of a 42-year-old.
The investigators of the Larnaca TAE found a correlation between two cases, while they are looking for evidence to see if there is a connection between the other three, something that has not been ruled out. The data so far point to a war for control of the night, which is why the Police are on alert and have taken, according to information, specific measures, which were not announced for obvious reasons.
The mayor of Larnaca expressed his concern about the attacks of the underworld yesterday to the police director of Larnaca, Yiannis Sotiriadis, during a scheduled meeting. "So far, it seems that the issues related to delinquency and related to some events in the city have been addressed. Now, however, we are concerned about serious crime and recent incidents. The police director assured me that additional measures are being taken and there is a plan to protect the people", Mr. Vyras told "F", noting that there is constant contact between the Municipality and the ADE of Larnaca.
The Police, for its part, is particularly sparing regarding the course of the investigations for the five cases, pending the specialized scientific examinations. "The investigations into the latest cases that took place are continuing intensively and are in full progress," the communication officer of the Police Headquarters, Marina Christodoulides, told our newspaper, indicating that the measures taken for the common crime in the city and district of Larnaca have paid off.
The first blow attributed to organized crime took place on July 14 outside the home of a 49-year-old man in Pyla. The victim was shot as soon as he got out of a car, in which his partner and her 12-year-old daughter were riding. He had been injured in the leg by the shots and had been hospitalized for a few days.
At 11 a.m. on July 31, a new assassination attempt was committed targeting a 47-year-old man in the Industrial Area of Dromolaxia. The 47-year-old, who was not injured, alerted the Police on his own, stating that while he was riding a bicycle, he heard gunshots coming from a stranger riding a moped. The perpetrator allegedly fled on foot and left behind the scooter he was driving.
Eight days later, on August 8, shots were fired at the vehicle of a 25-year-old woman in Oroklini, which is believed to have been a message to her partner, who is known to the authorities.
In the early hours of August 14, a car rental company was targeted on the coastal road of Pyla (Larnaca-Dhekelia). According to testimony obtained by the Police, the perpetrators were two, with the first shooting at the security guard and the second setting fire to 4 vehicles of the company. Exactly twenty-four hours later, unknown persons set fire to the vehicle driven by a 42-year-old man in Aradippou.
It is noted that the last two criminal actions are the ones that are allegedly connected, with the examinations for their clarification being extended to the Central Prisons.
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Strong reactions have been caused by the rumoured use of products and specifically halitzi from the occupied areas, during the Fig and Halitzi Festival that took place last Saturday in Kato Pyrgos, Tillyria.
According to information, the complaints that have been filed before "F" and the Ministry of Agriculture speak of the supply of carpets from the occupied areas, while as alleged there was sufficient production of local carpets, which could support the festival.
The issue has taken on dimensions, with the Community Council being called upon to provide answers. In a relevant announcement, issued after yesterday's meeting, the Community Council rejects the complaints, referring to "malignancy and mudslinging". As highlighted in the communication, all products, including carpets and figs, were purchased from a local shop and there are invoices and receipts for each purchase made by the Council.
The Community Council invites anyone who has doubts to visit its offices to see the relevant documents for themselves, while stressing that it always operates "within the framework of order and legality", retaining the right to take legal action.
However, the issue remains open, since, according to the same complaints, it is requested that the Community Council publicly proceed with the posting of the receipt for the purchase of the carpets and its submission to the competent state departments (Customs, Agriculture and Health Services) for further investigation of the origin of the products.
The case is expected to concern the competent state services, with the aim of fully clarifying the origin of the products and safeguarding the public's trust in institutions and local administrations.
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The 19-year-old Greek Cypriot driver of the car, who was involved in the injury of a 19-year-old National Guardsman, was detained by the Larnaca District Court for two days, with the latter being hospitalized in an extremely critical condition in the ICU of the Nicosia Hospital. The 19-year-old driver faces offences for causing grievous bodily harm and negligent and reckless acts.
As the judge said, approving the request of the Police for the detention of the suspect, the young man was driving a motor vehicle in which the 19-year-old was allegedly lying, who fell from it and was injured.
According to what the investigator of the case, which is being investigated by the Larnaca Police Department, initially the driver and the passenger of the car had given another version of the incident.
It is recalled that the incident happened around 11:30 on Monday evening in the large parking lot, behind the entertainment centers of Mackenzie. A group of friends, most of them licensed National Guardsmen, after leaving a restaurant in the area, were in the parking lot to get into cars and return to their homes.
The initial testimony, on the basis of which a relevant message was issued on Tuesday morning by the Police, spoke of a road accident in which a 19-year-old, who was in a car with a passenger of his age, accidentally dragged the 19-year-old in his attempt to approach him so that he too could get into the vehicle. According to those testimonies, the young man fell to the ground and hit his head.
It is noted that the court had not approved on Tuesday morning the police's request for the arrest of the 19-year-old, which was based on the initial testimony.
Along the way, however, and on the basis of the 19-year-old driver's voluntary testimony, the facts changed drastically with the case being assigned yesterday afternoon to the Larnaca TAE, which arrested the suspect.
The young man's lawyer, Paris Loizos, did not object to his detention, however, he submitted specific questions to the examiner of the case. Among other things, he submitted to the investigator that his client made an admission in his voluntary testimony, that the vehicle was moving at a low speed and that there was no other motive on his part. The examiner of the case noted that with the existing testimony there is no motive on his part, indicating that the receipt of about ten other testimonies, including from eyewitnesses of the incident, is missing.
Before the court, it was mentioned that the incident was re-enacted, while closed circuits are being sought in order to clarify the circumstances of the young man's injury.
It is noted that the 19-year-old injured man was transferred by his friends to the Larnaca General Hospital. Subsequently, due to the seriousness of his condition, he was intubated and rushed to the Nicosia General Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. The young man's health condition remains extremely critical.
The 19-year-old driver of the car underwent a breathalyzer test and a drug test with a negative indication, according to the Police.
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The 48-year-old patricide killer who fatally stabbed his elderly father, Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou, in the early hours of Wednesday, July 9 in Limassol, was dismissed from the Athalassa Hospital and brought before the Limassol District Court for a request for detention. The suspect was detained for a period of two days, with his lawyer, Alexandros Saouris, not objecting to the request of the investigators of the Limassol TAE.
As Filenews is informed, interrogated in writing at the offices of the Limassol Police Department, on the same day of the murder, he admitted to committing the crime, mentioning, among other things, that the reason he did this act is because his father "was a mason, he had an aura and when he approached him he was sick", as he characteristically stated. After this thought he wanted to harm him in order to save himself.
As it became known, a court arrest warrant was obtained against the suspect for the crime of premeditated murder, where he was arrested in the early hours of July 9. However, on the same day he was transferred to the Mental Health Centre of the Limassol Hospital and underwent a psychiatric examination, where it was found that he was unable to attend a court proceedings. On the same day, a decree of mandatory hospitalization for 28 days was issued, and on the same day he was transferred to the Mental Health Services at the Athalassa Hospital for hospitalization.
According to our own information, this decree was renewed until 03/10/2025.
Subsequently, today, August 20, the suspect was dismissed from the Athalassa psychiatric hospital, since, according to a report by his attending physician, he is currently in a position to attend a court proceedings. Around 8:00 a.m., he was rearrested in connection with the crime of premeditated murder and was taken for interrogation. When he was drawn to the law, he said that he "knows nothing without his lawyer." The 48-year-old is expected to be questioned further in the presence of his lawyer.
The investigations of the Limassol TAE continue. So far, 30 deposits have been received and 6 more are expected to be taken. Upon completion of the two-day pre-trial detention, the case is expected to be registered and referred for trial before the Limassol Permanent Assize Court.
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Customs officers at Ayios Dhometios crossing point found a 20-year-old Sudanese man on Tuesday night in the boot of a car, hiding under blankets in an effort to cross into the Republic undetected.
Senior customs officer George Constantinou told the Cyprus Mail that the man was found during random checks of vehicles crossing into the south.
At around 9pm on Tuesday, customs officers stopped a rental car driven by a Jordanian with Cypriot citizenship and found the man in the boot.
“While checking the boot, an illegal immigrant from Sudan was found hiding under blankets in an effort to cross into the south, without passing from police control,” Constantinou said.
He added that “they were both arrested – driver and illegal immigrant – and handed over to the police for further investigations.”
