Pafos Press 30 August 2025
Last night, around midnight, the Police proceeded to arrest a young man who was spotted driving a stolen vehicle in the Tombs of the Kings Avenue area in Paphos. According to information, the vehicle was moving at high speed and in a suspicious manner, which aroused the suspicions of residents and visitors to the area, who immediately notified the Police.
As soon as the police spotted the vehicle, the suspect abandoned it and fled, leaving it without a handbrake. As a result, the stolen car collided with another parked vehicle, causing damage.A short time later, the young man was spotted and arrested by members of the Police. Further investigations revealed that arrest warrants were also outstanding against him. Investigations into the case are continuing by the Paphos Police.
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Filenews
The Larnaca District Court placed two men, 27 and 33 years old, in six-day detention, who were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday by members of the Larnaca OPE.
The two were in a car that was stopped during a motorized patrol. During a search inside the vehicle, burglary tools as well as various valuables of unknown value were found.
They were immediately arrested for flagrant offenses, while by order of the Court they were detained for six days.
The examinations continue at the Oroklini Police Station.
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New investigations were carried out yesterday in the Central Prison to identify movable and other illegal objects in the possession of prisoners.
The new investigations were carried out by the Police in cooperation with the prison management, in three prison cells. According to information from Filenews, a mobile phone and an improvised knife were found in the life prisoner's cell.
The found items were confiscated and will be examined in order to find out with whom the lifelong prisoner was in contact and whether there are issues to be investigated. He will also suffer the administrative sanctions provided for by the prison regulations.
The investigations were carried out yesterday morning after information and evidence that prisoners were communicating with people outside prisons. Earlier in the week, a search was carried out in a criminal cell in which a mobile phone was also found, while the prisoner was arrested in connection with the attempted murder and arson in Pyla.
Both the Central Prison Directorate and the Police often carry out frequent raids on prisoners' cells in order to locate mobile phones, since they seem to find ways to get involved by tricking the prison guards. To stop the use of mobile phones by prisoners, a bill is being promoted that will criminalize their possession and use by convicts, visitors and staff.
Also, the implementation of a system that cuts off the signal on state-of-the-art mobile phones is promoted.
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The Police arrested two persons yesterday, in connection with burglary and theft cases committed in Limassol and Nicosia. The cases are being investigated by the Burglary Teams, of the Limassol TAE and the Nicosia TAE.
In Limassol, in the context of the investigation of four burglary cases, members of the Limassol TAE proceeded shortly after 10.00 on Friday morning, to the arrest of a 27-year-old man, pursuant to a court warrant. Following his arrest, the 27-year-old appeared before the Limassol District Court, which approved a relevant request from the Police and issued a detention order for seven (7) days, for the purposes of investigating the four cases.
These are cases of burglary of a warehouse of a car parts trading company, burglary of a fast food restaurant, burglary of a gas station and burglary of a gym. The burglary of the warehouse was committed between December, 2024 and 08 January, 2025, while the burglaries at the fast food, gas station and gym were committed on 25, 26, and 28 August, respectively.
A number of machines and a quantity of engine oil were stolen from the warehouse, a box of charitable donations containing money was stolen from the fast food store, while boxes of engine oil and vehicle cleaning were stolen from the gas station, as well as money from the coin receiver of an external water machine. No property was stolen from the gym.
In Nicosia, in the context of an investigation into a case of burglary of the offices of a contractor company, from which three laptops were stolen, members of the Nicosia TAE proceeded to the arrest of a 29-year-old man, after locating part of the stolen property, in his possession.
Specifically, the members of the TAE conducted a search at the residence of the 29-year-old, around 12.00 noon on Friday, following evidence that emerged during the investigation of the burglary and theft case. At the residence, they found a laptop that had been stolen and proceeded to arrest the 29-year-old for a flagrant offense. During interrogation, the 29-year-old admitted to committing the burglary and theft.
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A number of questions arise from the new explosion, the second in two years, at a metal recycling plant in Aradippou, which came from military ammunition and resulted in the serious injury of three people aged 52, 42 and 39 respectively. The Police, according to information from "F", are investigating whether the objects, which were transported by a 52-year-old Greek Cypriot to the site, came from a firing range of the National Guard in Koshi. No one wants to imagine the consequences, meanwhile, if a second ammunition found in the area exploded, which, as police sources told us, was received and destroyed with a controlled explosion in another area. This particular factory does not seem to have been allowed to operate without the necessary permits.
The explosion, which caused disruption in the Aradippou Industrial Area, occurred shortly after 9:30 yesterday morning. The 52-year-old Greek Cypriot went to the site with a double cab to deliver metals that were loaded into the vehicle. The objects were picked up by a 39-year-old worker from Nigeria, while the 42-year-old, holder of a Cypriot passport from Bulgaria, who rushed at that time to deliver old metal objects, was also at the scene. Preliminary examinations showed that the explosion was caused when the objects handed over by the 52-year-old were thrown into a body with other metals. The three were injured by the shock wave, as well as by objects ejected from the body. Ambulances, fire trucks, as well as members of the Aradippou Police rushed to the scene and blocked the scene.
The injured were transferred to Larnaca Hospital, where it was found that the health condition of the 42-year-old, who suffered a ruptured spleen, is more serious. All three are hospitalized out of danger in the hospital.
Investigations at the scene, carried out by the Police with the contribution of a National Guard pyrotechnician, showed that the explosion was caused by unexploded military ammunition.
As Filenews revealed yesterday, this particular site does not seem to hold the necessary permits, however, it continues its operation normally. According to sources from the Department of the Environment, "in 2019 and after out-of-court arrangements and letters of compliance for the cessation of work on the illegal unlicensed installation, a detailed report was sent to the Attorney General for the issuance of a temporary decree (ex parte) for the cessation of works of the installation". Three years later (2022), following an update requested by the Attorney General, the Department of the Environment, as reported to us, stressed in a letter "that it maintains its initial opinion on the closure of the facility". In 2023, moreover, a Court issued an out-of-court settlement of €600 for the specific area.
The tragic incident comes in addition to a second similar one that occurred almost two years ago at another metal collection site in the same area, with the explosion also injuring three people. Specifically, on September 13, 2023, an explosion was caused by a military bomb, collected from an area located near the Vougies firing range in Koshi. A 68-year-old Greek Cypriot was injured in the explosion, as well as two foreign workers aged 55 and 50.
The new explosion, however, brings to the surface even more urgently the need to take measures in firing ranges to prevent metal collection. In addition, it demonstrates that the competent state services must immediately proceed with the closure of unlicensed recycling factories, some of which, despite the deadly dangers, continue to receive objects from firing ranges.
