Pafos Live 11 October 2025
The Mayor of Paphos, Phedonas Phedonos, expressed his concern about the settling of accounts with bombings and assassination attempts by organized crime. As he said, they come from abroad and have developed relationships and cooperates with local organized crime, adding that our government and the Police must realize this and the Police must act preventively.
In his statements to journalists early Friday afternoon, Mr. Phedonos said that the ordinary citizen and the serious business world began to worry and feel insecure.
He pointed out that such actions, which have been increasing very much lately, tarnish the image of our country internationally as a service center, and as a place that was characterized by security.
It is, he continued, "these actions that are multiplying, that tarnish our country, and not us who ask for or bring these events, and ask for the government to act, for the Police to act, and for the State to act".
He also added that the international drug rings, money laundering and electronic organized crime, have, as he said, "such a close relationship now here in our country that we should be particularly concerned and the State, the government, the Police, can no longer watch as spectators".
Here and now, he continued, these crimes must be uprooted, they must leave our country and in this place we must host and be a hospitable place for serious business activity.
Mr. Phedonos then emphasized that serious business activity is welcome in this place, but clarified "that these phenomena that are recorded are, if you like, the result of many other processes".
He also said that we left many windows and doors open so that some people could be active who should not be active in our country.
So the Mayor of Paphos said, so those who are steeped in illegality, so those who are in organized crime in the countries where they operate, the others, when they move here to Cyprus, will bring with them the knowledge and habits.
And the result, he continued, "are these criminal acts, are the bombings, are the assassination attempts" resulting in this feeling of insecurity.
He also said that little by little the serious business world internationally will not choose Cyprus, and that Cyprus will be a place chosen by international crooks and all those who are related to the underworld, either of the white collar or of organized crime, he concluded.
