Filenews 26 September 2025
A 74-year-old woman in Limassol fell victim to the well-known Romance Scam, who was persuaded to send a total of €18,000 to an unknown man, whom she met through Facebook.
According to information from the Police, the woman made the mistake of accepting a friend request from an unknown user, who introduced himself to her as a doctor from Gaza. Their communication lasted about three months, during which time the man managed to convince her of his "pure" intentions and gain her trust.
Through emotional manipulation, he repeatedly asked her for financial help, pretending that he was facing difficulties and that he would soon travel to Cyprus to meet her in person. He promised, in fact, that he would return the amount she sent him.
The 74-year-old, believing his words, made successive bank transfers to a foreign account, with the total amount reaching €18.000. When she realized it was a scam, it was already too late. The man's social media account had disappeared and the money had already been lost.
The case was reported to the Limassol Police Department.
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A coordinated control operation was carried out today between the hours of 6 a.m. and 2 p.m., in the city and district of Limassol.
The operation is part of an initiative by the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Mr. Marios Hartsiotis, to ensure public order and legality and was attended by members of the Limassol Police Department, the Aliens & Immigration Service, the Fire Service, the Limassol District Self-Government Organization, the Health Service, the Tax Department, the Labour Inspection Department and the Customs Department.
During the operation, 46 persons and various buildings and premises were checked, where six persons were identified and arrested, who were found to be illegally residing in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
At the same time, three cases of illegal employment and employment emerged and fines were imposed for undeclared work.
Also, members of the Customs Department found more than two kilograms of tobacco products in a premises, which were imported illegally and a fine was imposed on the owner.
Policing and control actions continue daily, with the aim of ensuring legality and increasing the sense of security of citizens.
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The Police in Aradippou proceeded to arrest a 23-year-old Greek Cypriot woman, after locating a stolen car that had been reported earlier in Larnaca.
The case started yesterday afternoon, when a woman reported the theft of her vehicle. Police forces located the vehicle in Aradippou and rushed to the scene. According to the Police, the driver of the car abandoned the vehicle and fled, while the passenger was arrested.
This is a 23-year-old Greek Cypriot, in whose possession were found burglary tools, a knife and a small amount of narcotic substances, weighing 0,2 grams. The young woman is expected to be brought before the Court today for the issuance of a detention order.
The case is being investigated by the Aradippou Police Station in collaboration with the Anti-Drug Service (YKAN).
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Around 2 in the morning, citizens restrained a person who was trying to steal a motorcycle in the area of Limassol.
The Police went to the scene, where it was found that he was a 19-year-old, who admitted that he and another person had stolen the motorcycle.
He was arrested on a court warrant and taken into custody.
The examinations continue at the Agios Ioannis Police Station.
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With the measures being implemented, we estimate that Nicosia within the walls will soon regain the glamor it deserves, said the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, on Thursday.
As he mentioned, in the last nine months, 17 coordinated operations were carried out, which led to 133 arrests for illegal employment and illegal stay in the Republic, as well as for a number of other offenses that fall within the competence of various state services.
An announcement from the Ministry states that at a press conference at the Ledra Police Station, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicolas Ioannidis, as well as the Deputy Chief of Police, Panikos Stavrou, and the Deputy Mayor of Nicosia, Chrysanthos Fakas, the Minister referred to the initiative of the Ministry, in cooperation with other state bodies, for sweeping controls to combat lawlessness, especially in the historic center of the capital.
Especially and in view of the descent of universities into Nicosia within the walls, it is imperative to further strengthen the sense of security among the residents and visitors of the area, he said.
The Minister announced two additional measures to further improve the sense of security in the region. Specific uniformed and armed foot patrols of the MMAD are patrolling the area, while at the same time, motorcyclists of Group Z will be stationed in Eleftherias Square to strengthen the policing of the area.
In his speech at the press conference, the Minister said that "in this area, about 9 months ago, on the initiative of the Ministry of Public Administration and in cooperation with other state agencies and the local government, we started campaigns to remove all kinds of illegality".
"Old Nicosia was and is the heart of the capital with a rich historical past, present and future. In recent years, unfortunately, it has shown a strong characteristic of lawlessness, as a result of which the character of the area is seriously injured at all levels, including entrepreneurship and safe living," he said.
He noted that at the same time, following recent decisions of the Government and the local government, this area is evolving into a cultural, cultural and artistic center, since, among other things, old traditional buildings in the area will house leading universities and schools.
The above, he said, require the strengthening of the feeling of citizens, whether they are residents, visitors, businessmen, or employees.
All operations were carried out with the cooperation of the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection, the Police, the Municipality of Nicosia, the Fire Service, the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, the Commissioner of Taxation, the EOA of Nicosia and the District Administration of Nicosia, he noted.
In particular, he said, in the last 9 months, 17 coordinated operations have been carried out during which a total of 310 premises, more than 670 persons have been inspected by the Police and more than 170 traffic checks have been carried out.
These inspections have resulted in a total of 133 arrests for offenses such as illegal employment and illegal stay in the territory of the Republic, and complaints have been made about traffic violations and complaints about the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages.
The Minister stated that in the context of the inspections, the EOA and the Nicosia District Administration have identified a number of violations such as illegal additions, modifications and extensions of buildings and others, for which relevant measures were taken.
In addition, Mr. Hartsiotis said that the Health Services of the Municipality of Nicosia identified a number of health deficiencies and violations such as overcrowding, clutter, dirt, inappropriate living conditions, and, among other things, judicial measures were taken and administrative fines were imposed.
The members of the Tax Department, he continued, identified in a number of businesses violationsthat fall within the scope of their responsibilities, such as non-acceptance of payments by credit card and non-registration in the VAT Register, while at the same time they proceeded to obtain tenant and owner data for further relevant control.
In addition, the Department of Labor Inspection and the Social Insurance Service identified violations within the framework of their responsibilities such as undeclared work, violation of the minimum wage, employment without a contract and others, for which relevant measures were taken. Furthermore, the Fire Service carried out fire safety checks and prepared relevant reports with its findings and observations, which were sent to the competent services for their own actions.
"In addition to the above tangible results, the preventive and deterrent nature of the above organized operations that will continue is self-evident," said the Minister.
He thanked all the bodies involved in the operations, and in particular the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection and the Mayor of Nicosia for the whole cooperation.
Mr. Hartsiotis also announced two additional measures to further improve the sense of security in the region. Specifically, he stated that uniformed and armed foot patrols of the MMAD are already patrolling with an obvious presence in the specific area, which will continue until further notice, and motorcyclists of Group Z will be stationed in Eleftherias Square, to strengthen the policing of the wider area with quick and immediate intervention wherever needed.
"With the above additional measures and in addition to what has been announced and implemented since the beginning of the year, we look forward that Nicosia within the walls will soon regain the glamor it deserves and will be an area of peaceful coexistence of residents, professionals, students, visitors and employees", concluded the Minister.
CNA
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The District Court of Nicosia today sentenced a 48-year-old prison guard to three and a half years in prison, who admitted 29 charges related to arson and malicious damage.
This is a member of the staff of the Central Prison, who was arrested after coordinated efforts by members of the Nicosia Police Department last April almost in the act with the jerry can with gasoline in his hand, after a fire in a vehicle in Strovolos. The Police were concerned at that time with a series of arsons in the Strovolos area, which broke out for no reason, mainly in vehicles and houses.
Investigators of the Nicosia Police Department had proceeded to map the areas where the arsons took place, studied all the case files and found that the person who carried them out seems to have lived in the same area. Immediately after information received in the early hours of April 29, 2024 about arson, members of the Police surrounded the area and managed to catch the perpetrator almost in the act. From the investigations that followed, it seems that on the same night he had tried to set fire to a children's park.
In total, on the basis of the indictment, the prison guard was accused of 15 cases of arson or malicious damage and initially the case was registered before a Criminal Court. After consultations, the case file was returned to a district judge with the accused declaring admission to all charges. The case was handled on behalf of the Legal Service by the lawyer Marina Masoura.
It is noted that the prison guard had been on trial since last year when he was arrested, while as far as his motives are concerned, he did not mention anything, while the Police, through its representative at the time, had characterized him as a pyromaniac.
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Yesterday, at the end of the 15-day deadline for filing an appeal, the Attorney General's office appealed the decision on the amount of the sentence to the former Commissioner for Volunteerism, Giannis Giannakis.
According to reliable information from filenews, on the basis of the Appeal, the Attorney General raises an issue about the amount of the sentences and their adequacy in relation to the three charges admitted by Giannakis (circulation of a forged official document).
More specifically, the Appeal puts forward the position that due weight was not given to the seriousness of the offense and the fact that the convicted person had financial and professional benefit for 30 years. As it is known, Yiannakis used false academic documents for the purposes of his recruitment to the Cyprus Youth Board.
The Appeal focuses not on the succession of sentences, but on the amount of sentences imposed on each charge. One of the legal arguments of the Legal Service has to do with the fact that, according to the admissible facts of the case, Giannakis repeated the same offense of circulating a forged document.
It should be noted that the offense of circulating a forged official document in case of conviction carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
This move on the part of the Legal Service is not unrelated to the Appeal that, as revealed by "F", was submitted by Giannakis last Friday. This legal demarche revolves around the issue of the succession of sentences imposed.
As it is known, the Court last Thursday (11/9) imposed consecutive sentences of 18 months in prison on Giannis Giannakis for two cases where he presented the disputed forged documents to ONEK, in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
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Cyprus Mail
The prosecution in the civilian court case of the five Greek Cypriots who were arrested in the north in July named the witnesses it intends to call to testify against them during the trial on Friday.
In Trikomo, all five face charges of trespassing and breaching the peace while in Trikomo on July 19, while two face charges of privacy violations.
Prosecutor Aysin Bilgin told the court that he intended to call witnesses to testify, and as such he had to name them.
The first on the list was Hasan Ince, former head of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce.
Bilgin explained that while Ince had not filed a formal complaint to the police about the five Greek Cypriots’ conduct while in and around Trikomo on July 19, he had taken photographs of them while they were there.
The second name was Ahmet Noyan, head of the Noyanlar group, which describes itself as “a market leader in Cyprus’ construction industry”, having built holiday apartment complexes and other developments across the north.
The highest concentration of Noyanlar group properties is in the Long Beach area of Trikomo.
It had been reported in April that Noyan had been refused entry to the United Arab Emirates over his alleged construction of buildings on land belonging to Greek Cypriots in the north.
The reports stated that he is on a list of people banned from entering the UAE.
The third name was Burcin Dovec, head of the Dovec group of companies, which describes itself as “an undisputed pioneer in North Cyprus, successfully managing excellence in the real estate, tourism, education, energy, software, automotive and construction sectors”.
The lion’s share of the Dovec group’s business is located in and around Trikomo and the Famagusta district village of Akanthou.
The fourth and final name was Timucin Apaydin, the police officer investigating the case.
Bilgin told the court that he would also call a fifth prosecution witness, but did not name them.
Once the witnesses had been named, the case was adjourned until October 1.
Meanwhile, the five will return to the military court in northern Nicosia on Tuesday for the other case they face.
There, the police and the prosecution allege that when the five crossed in one car from the British Dhekelia base through the Strovilia crossing point, near Famagusta, only four identity cards were handed over for inspection on the Turkish Cypriot side of the crossing point.
As such, one of the five Greek Cypriots has been charged with illegally entering the north, while the other four are accused of aiding and abetting the illegal entry. The five Greek Cypriots deny the charges.
