Pafos Live 24 October 2025
Two persons aged 35 and 26 were arrested yesterday afternoon in Limassol after a coordinated operation by YKAN, after cannabis with a total weight of about 8 kilograms was found in their possession.
Specifically, in the context of collecting and evaluating data, members of YKAN located a 35-year-old man parking his car outside the home of a 26-year-old man yesterday afternoon. The latter allegedly placed a nylon bag inside the 35-year-old's car, who immediately left in his vehicle.
Members of the Police stopped the 35-year-old's vehicle where the nylon bag previously placed by the 26-year-old was found, which a subsequent check found to contain a quantity of cannabis with a total weight of 3 kilograms and approximately 390 grams. The 35-year-old was arrested for a flagrante delicto, while in a physical search that was submitted, a crusher was found in his possession in which there was dry cannabis plant matter weighing one gram, two mobile phones, while a handmade cigarette containing cannabis was also found inside the car.
A little later, the 26-year-old was seen leaving his house holding two nylon bags which he placed in his car and left the scene.
The 26-year-old's car was stopped by members of the Police where, after a search, the two nylon bags were found, which were found to contain cannabis with a total weight of four kilograms and approximately 520 grams. The 26-year-old was arrested for a self-inflicted offense, while a further search of his car found and seized a mobile phone as well as two boxes containing disposable gloves.
A search followed at the homes of the two arrested where, in the house of the 35-year-old, cannabis weighing about 7 grams was found, while in the home of the 26-year-old, two other mobile phones were found. All of the above were received as evidence for further examinations.
Update - YKAN attributes the role of a "warehouseman" of large quantities of drugs to a 26-year-old man, who was arrested yesterday afternoon in Limassol, after a coordinated operation that led to the discovery and confiscation of about eight kilograms of cannabis. The 35-year-old, who allegedly had the role of a transporter, is also involved in the same case. His arrest turned into a car accident, and took place a few minutes after the 35-year-old picked up his minor child to take him to his extracurricular activities.
The two suspects were brought before the Limassol District Court today, which ordered their eight-day detention. Their lawyer, Andreas Christou, did not object to the request for detention, but raised various issues during the cross-examination of the witness, calling him to answer whether there was a collision (heavy or light) on the passenger side during the interception of the 35-year-old's vehicle.
The Court allowed the question, and the YKAN examiner stated that there was indeed a small conflict, adding that there is a written testimony of the police officer who was present during the interception of the vehicle. The testimony was submitted only to the Judge, since it is testimony material.
According to the facts of the case, YKAN had received information on October 14 that the 26-year-old possessed and trafficked large quantities of cocaine and cannabis, which he hid in his home in Agia Fyla. The same information stated that the suspect supplied others either from his home or through "deliveries" with his vehicles.
Yesterday at noon, members of YKAN watched the 35-year-old stop outside the house in Agia Fyla. A young man came out of the house holding a blue nylon garbage bag which he placed in the 35-year-old's car and returned inside. The suspect left immediately, however YKAN temporarily lost track of him due to the movement.
A few minutes later, he was found again in Agia Fyla, driving the same vehicle, this time with his minor son in the passenger seat. The 35-year-old had just picked up his son to take him to his extracurricular activities.
Then the vehicle was stopped with the 35-year-old saying, "guys, be happy, I have three pieces back, but let me talk to my girlfriend".
After checking the car, three packages of dry cannabis plant matter were found, with a total weight of about four kilograms. Two mobile phones, a small amount of cannabis and a handmade cigarette were also found in his possession.
A little later, the 26-year-old was seen leaving his house holding two nylon bags, which he placed in his car. After a check, it was found that they contained cannabis weighing four kilograms. He was arrested on the spot, stating: "They told me to take them to Trachoni."
YKAN is expected to receive 26 testimonies and carry out five investigations, while the closed circuits of monitoring the area will also be examined.
Questioned in writing, the two suspects, in the presence of their lawyer, refused to give a written statement at this stage. The 35-year-old reportedly verbally admitted to drug possession, while the 26-year-old declared ignorance.
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Filenews
Rapid developments in the terrorism case with the main defendant being the Azero, Orhan Asadov, who allegedly planned the murder of an Israeli businessman and four other close associates in Nicosia in September 2021.
The scenario that "F" had previously announced last Tuesday was verified in yesterday's hearing before the Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia, after the prosecuting Authority and the defense reached a compromise.
The Attorney General removed the terrorism charges against him that carry up to a life sentence (see anti-terrorism legislation), with the 42-year-old admitting all charges related to conspiracy to murder, a felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison. At one stage of the trial, he had admitted a large number of charges related to the offenses of forgery (he had forged travel documents) and possession of weapons.
The information of Filenews about the latest developments in the trial in question, which is being held behind closed doors for reasons of national security, states that the two sides, the prosecutor of the Republic, Polina Efthyvoulou and the defense attorney Kostis Efstathiou, also concluded the admissible facts of the case.
A hearing has been set for early November for Asadov's defense to plead for the purpose of mitigating his sentence, while a trial will be scheduled for the imposition of the sentence.
We remind you that Asadov was arrested in September 2021, in possession of a manufactured pistol. Members of the Cyprus Police, following a coordinated operation, had handcuffed him in the parking lot of the Agios Andreas swimming pool in Nicosia.
Since then he has been detained as a prisoner. In other words, he has completed four years as a prisoner. And this is expected to be taken into account in the determination of the sentence. A scenario that cannot be ruled out is that he will be transferred abroad to serve whatever sentence is imposed on him. Asadov has a Russian passport, while he comes from Azerbaijan.
There are questions about 31-year-old Muzafar Abbas from Pakistan. In the sense that on the basis of the indictment he is accused of being an accomplice of Asadov, who, however, has now been acquitted of terrorism charges.
However, at the end of this month, a trial within a trial involving Abbas was scheduled. This is Abbas's third trial within a trial. As for its subject, Abbas' lawyer, Panos Pafitis, had raised the issue of violating his client's rights when taking the investigative testimonies.
30-year-old S. Hussein is also accused in the case, who is facing offenses related to providing support to Abbas.
At the moment, three of the total 95 prosecution witnesses have testified.
The registration was initially made on November 5, 2021 with a total of six defendants, while the hearing began on July 6, 2023. Two defendants were subsequently acquitted, as they were deemed not to have been actively involved, while a third person, a young Cypriot university student originally from Lebanon, was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a three-year suspension and turned into a prosecution witness.
At the end of September 2022, when one year had passed since the arrest of the Azeros, the latter, through his lawyer Efstathios K. Efstathiou, had admitted a large number of charges related to the offenses of forgery and possession of weapons.
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One after the other, the constables who were accused of having friendly relations with the murdered in 2016 Fanos Kalopsidiotis in a restaurant in Ayia Napa are acquitted, in an unprecedented massacre where a police sergeant was killed along with his wife, as well as an executioner.
With two decisions, the Administrative Court annulled the disciplinary penalties ratified by the Police Appeals Council against two members of the Police, while a third had previously been annulled.
The two constables with their appeals requested the annulment of the decision of the Board of Appeals dated 06/04/2021 and by which they ratified the first instance disciplinary conviction verdict that found them guilty of committing the disciplinary offense of misconduct and negligence of duty. For these offenses, he imposed on them the penalty of postponing the annual increase for 3 years and a fine of 10 days' wages on one and downgrading to order on the other.
According to the Court's decision, on the occasion of the investigation of the incidents concerning the murder in 2016 of Th., otherwise known as K., (Kalopsidiotis) of Sergeant X. and his wife and the fact that in his possession..., a large amount of money was found, an investigation was ordered by criminal investigators appointed by the Attorney General of the Republic, in order to investigate the possibility of corruption in the Police.
On the basis of the conclusion of the criminal investigators which was forwarded to the Chief of Police and from which it emerged that members of the Police had suspicious relations with the murdered Theofanous, who was active in criminal cases in a specific area, the Police decided to proceed with the investigation of disciplinary offenses against four of its members, including the two applicants.
This investigation resulted in the filing of disciplinary proceedings against these four members of the Police. For all four disciplinary defendants, the disciplinary case no. 4/17. Following a joint hearing, the Disciplinary Committee found the applicants guilty of two charges, namely the first for the offense of inappropriate behaviour for maintaining friendly relations with the murdered K. and the fourth for the offense of negligence of duty for attending a night event held in a premises called "Kafeneio" of the interests of the Kalopsidiotis family.
In order to annul the contested decision, the two constables argued that the Disciplinary Committee wrongly evaluated the testimony that existed to support their guilt, that it was based on an error as to the facts as they emerged through vague and contradictory testimony offered by the prosecution and without evaluating the credibility of these witnesses.
The criterion for the final judicial judgment was the decision on the appeal of another constable who was convicted for the same case, where he was acquitted due to the way the Disciplinary Committee assessed the credibility of a witness. The Supreme Court, in the appeal of another constable, ruled that the Disciplinary Committee acted in an erroneous manner and under error in the evaluation of P. G.'s testimony and the facts surrounding it in terms of the friendly relations he maintained with Kalopsidiotis, which is why it acquitted him.
It is noted that the lawyer of the Republic who appeared in the appeal procedure, stated before the Court that she accepts the annulment of the contested decision.
In the end, the two appeals were accepted and the decisions of the Disciplinary Committee against them were annulled with the lawyers' fees being awarded in their favour.
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Around 11.30 a.m. yesterday, while members of the Limassol Cycling Police were patrolling the area of Limassol, they located and approached for a check, a 29-year-old pedestrian, against whom an arrest warrant was pending for failure to appear before a Court.
When the 29-year-old noticed the members of the Police, he pulled out a knife and pointed it threateningly at them, shouting and causing concern.
At the same time, in order to escape control, he ran and entered a kiosk, continuing to point the knife at the police. The members of the Cycling Police managed to immobilize him and extract the knife.
The 29-year-old was arrested and taken into custody to facilitate investigations.
The Limassol Minor Offenses Department continues the examinations.
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A video and news in which there is talk of claiming responsibility for the paint attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Limassol, was reposted on social media by antifazone_cy team.
In the news, which was published by the website athens Indymedia, it is not clarified, however, who takes responsibility, while antifa in their own post claims that it is just a republication.
As reported in the news, in the early hours of Monday 13/10/2025 around 03:00, they overcame all control mechanisms and moved towards the hotel on the Limassol coastal road, throwing bottles of red, black, white and green paint as a sign of solidarity with the fighting people of Palestine.
"This particular hotel," they add, "is of Israeli interests, it constantly hosts Israelis who come to Cyprus for holidays, for sports events, for neocolonial entrepreneurship, all part of a general plan for the expansion of Zionist politics and economy."
"For the past two years, Israel has committed the greatest war crimes with the complicity of the entire global interstate system, which either does not take a stand, or whitewashes their crimes through the normalization and normalization of their relations with the genociders, or shamelessly supports, morally, politically, militarily, their barbarities. Among them there are fascist states like Turkey, which play the role of the strict and the aggrieved in order to exploit the genocide for the benefit of their influence in the Muslim world, or states like Iran that instrumentalize the conflict for their own expansionist interests," they continue.
Gaza, as they report, "has been razed to the ground and we officially count sixty-five thousand dead (unofficially hundreds of thousands), among them tens of thousands of children. The declaration of a ceasefire does not mean at all the end of the suffering for the people of Gaza who are returning to a destroyed, toxic city without infrastructure, with bodies still scattered in the rubble. While the truce itself is a mockery when Israel is still bombing, still has thousands of abused prisoners, men, women, children, is still with its finger on the trigger against a people, it still demands disarmament, the abolition of self-defense while sticking out its raging teeth."
"We are watching rich Israelis buying huge areas of land on the island to create 'a small Tel Aviv' or 'a second Israel' while creating a housing crisis, gentrification (capitalist development with the exclusion of local and immigrant workers and students from city centers)," they say, among other things.
"We are with the armed struggle of the Palestinians because it is the only way left and it is in its big picture a necessary war of self-defense and survival, in contrast to the Israeli state, which is a war of extermination and domination. We are anarchists and we want an end to expansionist and exploitative wars. No state, no capitalist, no patriarchal ideology is going to offer solutions without reproducing the same problem again. The peoples save the peoples and they will achieve this through the internationalist organized unity that fights against all forms of exploitation and oppression," they continue.
"We are not fighting for Palestine but Palestine for us, internationalist solidarity and its risks are the least we can offer. See you in the streets of fire. Freedom in Palestine. Attack on the Zionist machine!", he concludes.
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A fire broke out in the early hours of Friday in a vehicle in the Larnaca District.
According to the Police, around 2.10 in the early hours of Friday (24/10) a fire broke out in a 50-year-old man's car. The fire was extinguished by the Fire Service.
According to the authorities, a flask containing flammable material was found near the vehicle.
Further investigations into the exact causes of the fire will be carried out on Friday morning by the Police.
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Members of the Police stopped shortly after midnight today on a road in Limassol, a scooter-type moped, on which two people were riding.
During the inspection that followed, it was found that the driver was an 18-year-old man with a 21-year-old passenger. In a check carried out on a bag in the possession of the 21-year-old, a nylon bag containing dry cannabis plant matter, weighing about 75 grams, was found and he was arrested for a flagrante delicto.
The arrested person was taken to the offices of YKAN where, when interrogated, he allegedly pleaded guilty and was taken into custody. The driver of the scooter was also called to the offices of YKAN who was also interrogated and then left after nothing came to light against him.
YKAN continues the examinations.
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The Drug Enforcement Service - YKAN has arrested a third suspect, a 37-year-old man, for the case of drug trafficking, specifically methamphetamine Crystal Meth. The 37-year-old was arrested yesterday afternoon, by members of YKAN in Larnaca, by virtue of a court warrant and was taken into custody for the purpose of investigating the case.
The drug trafficking case concerns a quantity of methamphetamine – Crystal Meth, weighing approximately 360 grams, which was found in a postal parcel and confiscated by YKAN, after actions taken in the context of international cooperation with Services of other countries.
In a coordinated operation carried out by YKAN last Monday, in Larnaca, in relation to the postal parcel in question, two other persons, men aged 30 and 31, were arrested. In a search of their home, the members of YKAN located and retained various evidence, such as a tobacco syringe with traces of a crystalline substance, believed to be methamphetamine, a precision scale with traces of a white substance, a crusher with traces of cannabis, a small amount of cannabis plant matter, and a bottle of liquid substance, the composition of which is being investigated.
The 30-year-old and 31-year-old are under eight-day detention, based on a court order of detention, issued on Tuesday morning by the Larnaca District Court, at the request of the Police.
Participation in a drug trafficking and import ring into Cyprus is being investigated against all three suspects. The case is being investigated by YKAN (Larnaca District Unit).
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The time has come for the hearing of the case with the suicide of 15-year-old Stylianos in September 2019, which caused shock in Cypriot society and raised a number of issues about the social support system on our island.
Yesterday, the District Judge, Pavlos Agapitos, before whom the case with 11 accused persons has been brought, set the start of the hearing for January 20, 2026. At the same time, he scheduled two more hearings for January 22 and 27, respectively.
It was obvious not only from the planning he made, but also from his reports that four years have passed since the case was registered in the Nicosia District Court and that there is no room for postponements.
In fact, the District Judge, Pavlos Agapitos, set January 13 for the two sides, the prosecuting authority and defense attorneys, to appear before him. This is to ensure that no pre-trial issues will be raised that will cause a further postponement of the start of the hearing.
Indicative of the court's intentions not to waste valuable time, were the instructions of Mr. Agapitos in order to admit facts until the first hearing, obviously to save valuable judicial time and not to have to call witnesses accused of formal events.
Earlier, the representative of the prosecution, Elena Konstantinou, had stated that she was ready even yesterday in order to summon the first prosecution witness of the case (note: he is one of the independent criminal investigators).
However, the lawyer of the 1st defendant, Stylianos' father, said that he wants time to study the case. He explained that the lawyer who had initially undertaken the defense of the 1st defendant and recently took over his representation himself has died. In addition, lawyer Marios Spyrou, who represents three of the 11 accused persons, had stated that the issue with the witness material remains to be clarified.
The witness material, according to what was reported in the context of yesterday's proceedings, consists of 12 box files.
The central figure in the case is Stylianos' father. Testimonies given during the examinations for the suicide of the unfortunate teenager, brought his father, who ran a livestock unit in Kotsiatis, to exercise physical violence against the victim, but also against his wife.
The indictment includes a total of 218 charges and the first part concerns the couple, i.e. the 55-year-old father of the unfortunate child and his 48-year-old mother.
The 1st defendant is facing charges related to the exercise of physical and psychological violence, such as joint assault, subjecting a person to cruel, inhuman treatment, etc.
As for the mother, there is an accusation concerning the failure of a citizen to report cases of violence. According to the Domestic Violence Law of 2000, "anyone who fails to report a case of violence against a minor or a person with serious mental or mental deficiencies, who comes to his knowledge, commits an offence and in case of conviction is subject to imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to one thousand pounds or both of these penalties".
SWS officers
The other nine persons are accused of neglect of official duty. These are officers of the Social Welfare Services, i.e. either social workers or coordinators. At least two of them, as "F" is informed, have now retired.
The offences in question were allegedly committed between 2008 and 2019.
The indictment of the present case does not include a member of the police force. As "F" was informed, a separate case for a police officer was registered.
These things also happened
Yesterday's proceedings were attended by all the accused persons except one. Although the absence was considered justified, the Judge instructed to issue an arrest warrant for formal reasons, i.e. to ensure the presence of the absent person at the next hearing.
One of the accused persons was heard saying in the courtroom and before the start of the proceedings that "we have to prove that we are not elephants".
After the end of yesterday's hearing, the defendants together with their lawyers discussed the case in the lobby of the 2nd floor of building 4 of the Nicosia Courts. A police officer made recommendations in order to speak more quietly.
The investigation into the loss of the deceased child
The office of the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou Lottides, investigated the loss of Stylianos following a decision of the Council of Ministers dated September 11, 2019. The terms of reference had to do with the identification of responsibilities "against all those responsible in all the services involved". The conclusion of this investigation dated 14/11/2019 was made public and forwarded to the then Attorney General of the Republic, Costas Clerides. Subsequently, two independent criminal investigators were appointed, the lawyers Modestos Pogiatzis and Andreas E. Andreou, with an order to complete the criminal investigation assigned to them within two months. The case was registered in 2021.
In the commissioner's conclusion there is a detailed record of events about Stylianos, who from an early age presented psychological issues, due to the alleged violent and oppressive behaviour of his father. As can be seen from the testimony submitted to the commissioner's office, the teachers had identified the issues facing Stylianos in time and had taken action. At some point, the child had manifested suicidal ideation, culminating in the tragic ending.
The report identified the responsibilities of the Police and the Social Welfare Services. For the Cyprus Police, it is noted that "disciplinary offenses are identified from omissions and violation of Police Regulations". Among other things, there is talk of "failure to assess the risk of violence in the family, both physical towards the mother and psychological towards the children". And the conclusion continues: "As far as the non-receipt of complaints but simple reports of violence from her is concerned, according to the Circular of the Chief of Police, it did not exclude the Obligation to further investigate the case since the relevant reports exceeded 20 and there was also a conviction of the father for violence against the minor Stylianos. They should have taken into account the existence of minor children and the possibility of psychological violence that both the frontline police officers and the Police Violence Prevention Office failed to detect even though they had access to the electronic entries that with an identity search brought ALL the entries in total."
As far as the SWS are concerned, the report records, among other things: "The Social Welfare Services have the largest share of responsibility as detailed above, which I repeat and adopt for the purposes of these conclusions. There is a lack of risk assessment for the existence of violence, both physical and psychological, but a lack of proper coordination both during the early stages of follow-up in the family and later, violating almost all the Administrative Provisions and the relevant Manuals. For the time of the suicide attempt in question, there is complete indifference and NO ASSESSMENT OF ANY DANGER, with the result that no action, no evaluation, no specialized support and no interest in the issue of Stylianos exists."
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The Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia temporarily suspended the proceedings that began shortly after 11:00 for the announcement of the sentence of the admitted usurper of Greek Cypriot property, Simon Mistriel Aykut.
And this is for the three-member judiciary to decide on the request of the representative of the prosecuting Authority, senior lawyer of the Republic, Andreas Aristidis, in order to issue a confiscation order in the amount of €19.694. This money was located and frozen in July 2024 in the account he held with the Bank of Cyprus.
One of Aykut's lawyers, Maria Neophytou, said that she does not object and said that the acceptance of the request of the prosecuting authority by Aykut should be taken as a mitigating factor.
After that, the president, Christiana Parpotta, interrupted the process to withdraw the judiciary she heads and decide on it.
The small courtroom is packed. Aykut's wife and relatives were also present. When Aykut entered the hall accompanied by police officers, he greeted one of the people who had come to watch the proceedings with a cordial gesture.
Update - A five-year prison sentence was imposed on the admitted usurper of Greek Cypriot land in the occupied territories, Simon Mistriel Aykut.
The Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia (Christiana Parpotta – P.E.D., Christos Raspopoulos – A.E.D., Panagiotis Savvides – E.D.) imposed this sentence for the 40 charges he admitted and concern "fraudulent transactions in real estate belonging to another". The reading of the verdict by the three-member judiciary began at 11:00.
The offenses he committed concern 40 pieces of land, with an area approaching 400,000 square meters and a value of up to €40 million. According to the admissible facts, it is concluded that the usurpation concerns 40 pieces of land, with an area of 385,969 square meters and a value of - on the basis of an estimate by the Land Registry Department - €38,855,000.
All this concerns illegal developments of five building complexes that took place in Agios Ambrosios (Ceasar Cliff), Trikomo (Ceasar Resort), Gastria (Ceasar Beach and Ceasar Blue) and Akanthou (Ceasar Breeze and Ceasar Bay).
In essence, Aykut pleaded guilty to offenses that in free language constitute usurpation and under the penal code carry a prison sentence of up to seven years.
Given, in fact, that the constituent elements of this criminal offense, for the first time in history, concern the usurpation of Greek Cypriot land, the Court's decision is unprecedented.
It should be noted that Aykut has been detained since June 2024. The sentence imposed on him also takes into account the time that has elapsed since the day of his arrest.
