Pafos Live 22 August 2025
The 43-year-old suspect who was arrested in connection with the fire that broke out yesterday morning in a paper mill in Ypsonas, owned by a 75-year-old, was placed under seven-day detention. He is suspected of offences of arson and causing malicious damage.
In his testimony to the Police, the owner of t* * * *he craft expressed the assessment that the fire was maliciously set and named the 43-year-old man, who was his former employee, as a suspect. According to the Police, the suspect had labour disputes with the 75-year-old and allegedly threatened him repeatedly.
As reported in court, the suspect had resigned from his job about a year ago, recently asked the owner to rehire him, which the 75-year-old refused. The 75-year-old's refusal reportedly angered the 43-year-old, who threatened him with the phrase "I'm going to beat you alive". A phrase that, according to the investigator of the case, he repeated about two weeks ago in a café in Ypsonas where he met the 75-year-old. The suspect allegedly even moved threateningly towards the owner, but patrons intervened and stopped him. The 75-year-old made a relevant complaint to the Police, members of which made recommendations to the 43-year-old. The court was also told that the suspect caused damage to a craft car about a month ago.
Police also obtained testimony that the suspect was seen fleeing an area near the factory.
Update - Cyprus Mail - The paper processing factory which burned down in Ypsonas earlier this week will not reopen as it did not have the correct licences to operate, Curium mayor Pantelis Georgiou said on Friday.
The factory was licensed to operate as a stationery and aluminum warehouse; however, he said, no one was aware of a container of gas cylinders on the premises.
“Those who violate the law will be brought to justice,” Georgiou added.
The damage caused by the fire and the explosions to the nearby houses will be recorded.
“For the prevention of similar incidents, inspections will be carried out on premises adjacent to the residential areas as well,” Georgiou said.
A 43-year-old former factory employee was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the fire after he had reportedly made threats against the owner of the factory.
On Thursday he was remanded in police custody for seven days.
* * * * * *
Filenews
A serious case of burglary and theft of sensitive infrastructure of the Republic of Cyprus in Troodos is being handled by the Cyprus Police.
In fact, two persons have been arrested for the case, who are in custody.
The information so far about the case, for which the police authorities maintain extreme secrecy, indicates that there is no issue of security.
The events in question appear to have taken place late on Tuesday evening at the facility in question. The perpetrators allegedly achieved their illegal entry after first cutting barbed wire.
Information indicates that from this facility they removed copper from cables in the facilities located there. The Police allegedly drew up a plan and carried out a coordinated operation in the area. The next day, according to a source of "F", he succeeded in arresting them at the same place.
Due to the fact that the incident concerns sensitive infrastructure, the Police are investigating the case by making appropriate handling. It is indicative that the two Greek Cypriots were taken to Court for the purpose of issuing a detention order against them, without making public details. In fact, the process took place behind closed doors.
According to our information, the Court issued a five-day detention order against the two suspects. The latter deny committing crimes and attribute their presence in the space to another reason.
The Police allegedly have testimony that makes them believe that the two persons are directly connected to the case.
* * * * * *
A case of theft of building materials, committed in the Limassol district, is being investigated by the Limassol Police Department in cooperation with the Police Stations of Agios Ioannis and Polemidia.
Specifically, on 19/08/2025, it was reported by the owner of a contractor company that, between the dates 11-18/08/2025, 52 boxes of ceramics and 40 packages of rubber, with a total value of €2,500, were stolen from a residence under renovation in Kato Polemidia.
Subsequently, on 21/08/2025, she reported again that, between 20 and 21/08/2025, 30 more rubber packs worth €350 were stolen from the same residence.
A geolocation device (AirTag) was placed in one of the stolen rubber packages. On the same day, the complainant informed the Police that the device had been spotted in an area of Limassol.
Members of the Limassol TAE and the Polemidia Police Station went to the specific area, where it was found that it was a premises owned by a 45-year-old.
Following the written consent of the owner, a search was carried out on the premises, where 109 ceramics and 37 rubber packages of various brands were found. In one of them, the geolocation device (AirTag) was found.
The 45-year-old was arrested for the flagrant offense of theft, in relation to eight packages of rubber identified by the complainant, as well as for the offense of illegal possession of property, in relation to the rest of the materials found, for which he did not give satisfactory explanations as to their origin.
The examinations are ongoing.
* * * * * *
The arrest of a person, a European citizen, aged 18, was made this morning by the Larnaca Police Department, in connection with the case of the arson of four vehicles and the firing of shots at a car rental company on the coastal road of Pyla, during which he was threatened with a security guard pistol.
The young man was arrested as a suspect for committing the offenses of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, attempted murder, arson and illegal possession of a firearm and explosives, etc. The 18-year-old is expected to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. today to issue a detention order.
It is recalled that in the early hours of Thursday, August 14, a vehicle approached the premises of the company in question, from which two persons got out, one of whom was holding a pistol, while the second was holding a bottle of flammable material.
The person holding the pistol fired a shot at the security guard, who at the time was inside the company's offices, with the bullet ending up in an adjacent column.
Then, under the threat of a pistol, the perpetrator pinned the security guard to the ground, while the second person covered four vehicles with flammable material and then set fire to them. The scene was examined by members of the Criminal Investigation Service and a number of items of evidence were received, including a cartridge and a bullet from a firearm cartridge. The security guard was not injured in the shooting.
A closed surveillance circuit was received from the area that recorded the movements of the perpetrators, who had their faces covered
* * * * * *
The 53-year-old Ukrainian, who is considered a suspect for the brutal murder of 34-year-old Irene Papakitsa, at her home in Chlorakas last Sunday, was transferred to the Athalassa Psychiatric Institution.
The 53-year-old was examined by a government psychiatrist, who judged that he needed hospitalization and has already been transferred to the Athalassa Hospital, where according to the Police he will remain until it is determined that he is able to attend the court proceedings for the case.
Today, in the meantime, the epilogue of the tragedy that has been shocking the whole Cypriot since Sunday is being written. 34-year-old Irene Papakitsa, from Ukraine, holder of a Greek passport, is transferred to her last residence, prematurely and unjustly as the new victim of a brutal femicide.
The funeral of the mother of the 14-year-old boy who experienced the perpetrator's fury during the same murderous episode and escaped with injuries only, unlike his mother, will be held at 4:00pm from the church of Panagia Chrysohematousi in Chloraka.
The appeal of the tragic woman's relatives is that instead of wreaths, donations be made for her minor child.
* * * * * *
The investigations of the British Bases Police of Dhekelia seem to refute the allegations of a 32-year-old Greek Cypriot, who said that he accidentally entered the occupied areas and escaped on foot from a dirt road in the area of Achna.
According to information from filenews, the BB Police handcuffed the 32-year-old from the Nicosia district, since there are indications that he was in the occupied areas and was attempting to return to the free areas from an uncontrolled point.
According to police sources, the suspect was arrested to investigate whether he is involved in a case related to smuggling. After being interrogated, according to information from BB, he was released on parole (with a bail of 1000 euros) and will appear again at the Dhekelia Police Station in 2 weeks.
It is recalled that the incident took place at 4 a.m. near the road leading from Xylotymbou to the Strovilia barricade. In his initial testimony, the young man had claimed that he wanted to do his physical need and that he accidentally entered the occupied areas through a dirt road. He had claimed, in fact, that he saw lights turning towards him and realized that it was the outpost of the occupation authorities. Then, as he claimed, he started running and managed to cross again in the free areas, leaving his vehicle behind.
* * * * * *
The 19-year-old from Romania, a resident of Paphos, who was arrested as a suspect by the Larnaca TAE for alleged involvement in the case of the attempted murder of a security guard on the coastal road of Pyla and the arson of 4 vehicles of a car rental company on August 14, was placed under eight-day detention. The suspect faces multiple offences of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, attempted murder, arson, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of explosives, theft of a vehicle and theft.
His defense lawyer, Ilias Satolias, objected to his detention for a period of 8 days, submitting to the investigator of the case that his client was abroad when the crimes related to the company were committed in Pyla.
It is noted that the suspect, who employed the Paphos Police several times for burglaries and thefts, as reported to the court, was arrested yesterday in Paphos for another offense, when a stolen car he was driving collided with a patrol car. He has been wanted since August 18 by the Larnaca Police Department, after allegedly stealing another car from Kolossi, one day before the murder attempt, in which the perpetrators seem to have been trafficked. Responding to questions from the 19-year-old's lawyer, the investigator of the case, Sergeant of the Larnaca Police Department, Manolis Manolis, said that on August 18 at 12 noon the disputed vehicle was stolen from Kolossi, which was seen being driven to Paphos by the suspect about two hours later (allegedly seen by a police officer). Shortly after 3:30 in the morning of August 14, the vehicle was allegedly used to traffic the perpetrators of the attempted murder and arson. According to what was said in court, three people were on board.
The passenger got off holding a pistol with which he fired at the security guard of the premises, with the bullet passing next to him and ending up in a column. A person sitting in the back seat was doused with gasoline and set fire to four of the company's vehicles. The Police are investigating whether the suspect was the driver of the car, a possibility that his lawyer categorically rejected, claiming that the client has nothing to do with what happened in Pyla, since he was outside Cyprus. He was not examined if he was in Cyprus on 14/8 and they did not receive an interrogation statement to question him," said Mr. Satolias while speaking before the court, noting that the fact that his client is suspected of stealing a vehicle does not mean that he "conspired to commit the attempted murder". The Police, meanwhile, are looking for a second person, who allegedly transported the 19-year-old to Kolossi, where the theft of the vehicle was committed.
It is recalled that a closed surveillance circuit was received from the area that recorded the movements of the perpetrators, who had their faces covered. The criminal act, the motives of which are attributed to the action of organized crime, seems, meanwhile, to be linked to the arson of the vehicle driven by a 42-year-old man in Aradippou that was recorded on August 15.
