Pafos Live 10 January 2026
A serious case of poaching is being investigated by the hunting service in Paphos in cooperation with the police. A poacher did not hesitate to turn a Flaubert-type shotgun against gamekeepers in order to escape, managed to escape and is being sought, while a second person, a 66-year-old Greek Cypriot, who was with him, was arrested.
According to the police, members of the hunting service who were patrolling last night shortly after eight o'clock in the area of Achelia, detected light from a light in a fenced orchard. They approached quietly and saw two faces chasing game during the night using a lantern and Flaubert. When the gamekeepers tried to stop them, the poacher with the hunting gun turned it towards them and threatened to shoot them and they started running.
The 66-year-old man who was holding the light was arrested, while the second managed to escape with the hunting gun. In the possession of the arrested person and in the area where they were found, 19 freshly killed birds, and full and empty Flaubert cartridges. The 66-year-old is expected to appear in the Paphos court for the issuance of a detention order while an attempt is being made to locate the second poacher.
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The targeted preventive operations of the Police continued during last night, with an enhanced presence in key points of urban areas, with the aim of preventing serious criminal acts, protecting citizens and ensuring public order.
As part of these operations, members of the Police located and arrested two persons, in Nicosia and Limassol, against whom arrest warrants were pending for cases of building burglary and theft respectively. In the province of Paphos, a person was arrested, in connection with a case of concern. Two other persons were also arrested for the self-inflicted crime of driving under the influence of alcohol.
During the night, more than 730 vehicles were stopped for inspection, while more than 910 people in them were checked. At the same time, 41 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of preventing and suppressing delinquent behaviours. During the inspections of the premises, a total of six complaints emerged for violations regarding their operating licenses.
From the traffic checks carried out, 216 complaints related to various traffic violations emerged, including 38 for driving under the influence of alcohol, while four drivers were found positive in a drug test. The total number of alcohol tests on vehicle drivers exceeded 580. At the same time, as part of the investigation of traffic offenses, ten vehicles were detained.
These operations are part of a broad, continuous and strengthened preventive plan of the Police, with an increased police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action in all provinces, with the aim of preventing crime and strengthening the sense of security of citizens.
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Pafos Press
The scattered fires that broke out on Thursday afternoon, around 18:00, in the Archimandrita area, in wild vegetation, appear to have been the work of arsonists, according to the Director of the Forestry Department, Savvas Ezekiel, however, the rain prevented the worst.
In statements to CNA, Mr. Ezekiel stated that, despite the outbreak of the fires, they were not dangerous due to the very high humidity that prevailed in the area. As he explained, the weather conditions with southerly winds and intense cloudiness did not allow the fire to develop and move uncontrollably, while the rainfall that occurred around 19:30 was also decisive, preventing the worst.
Although the fire broke out outside the Forestry Department's area of responsibility, in a difficult area where the Fire Department could not operate effectively due to the available equipment and personnel, it was decided that the Forestry Department would take over the response.
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Filenews
Two minors aged 15 and 16, who were found yesterday in Nicosia, illegally driving two stolen motorcycles, were arrested by members of the Police.
Specifically, members of the TAE Nicosia, around 11.30 a.m. yesterday, Friday, they found two persons driving dangerous scooter-type motorcycles on a road in Nicosia. After the members of the TAE found that the two motorcycles, 150 and 125 cc respectively, had been reported to the Police as stolen, they stopped the two drivers for a check, who were then found to be minors, 15 and 16 years old.
The members of the Police proceeded to arrest the 15-year-old and the 16-year-old for self-inflicted offenses and led them to the local Nicosia Central Police Station, where their guardians were also summoned and attended. Later at noon yesterday, the two minors were released, to be summoned at a later stage, to continue the police examinations.
According to the data under examination, one motorcycle was stolen between 07 and 08 January, from an open parking lot in Strovolos, while the second motorcycle was stolen on 08 January, while it was in the vehicle parking lot, at the residence of its owner, in Nicosia.
The two cases are being investigated by the Nicosia Central Police Station.
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A 27-year-old man, who was wanted in connection with investigated cases of burglary and theft, and a case of theft of money from a bank account, committed in Nicosia, was located by members of the Police and arrested shortly after 8.00 last night.
This is a case of burglary of an accounting office in Nicosia, committed in the period between December 23 and January 03, and a case of burglary of a house, in Strovolos, committed on the night between January 5 and 6.
According to the data under examination, a laptop computer was stolen from the accounting department, while a sum of money and a wallet, containing two bank cards, were stolen from the residence. One of the bank cards was used illegally after it was stolen, to pay a small amount of money to a café in Nicosia.
During the investigation of the cases by the Nicosia Police Department, evidence emerged against the 27-year-old. Court warrants were issued for his arrest, while as part of the police examinations, his photo and details were released by the Police, on Friday, January 09, 2026, in order to collect information that could lead to his identification.
Around 8.15 pm on Friday, members of the Road Accident Prevention Unit - OPOD, of the Traffic Department of the Headquarters, stopped the 27-year-old, who was driving a car on the Larnaca-Famagusta highway, for a check. The members of the OPOD took the 27-year-old to the local Oroklini Police Station, where they proceeded to arrest him, by virtue of the court warrants issued against him.
The TAE of Nicosia continues the examinations, while at the same time, a case of traffic violations is being investigated against the 27-year-old, since as it was found by the members of the Traffic Headquarters, when he was located on the highway, the 27-year-old was driving the car without holding a driver's license and without being covered by an insurance certificate.
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Limassol remains at the center of criminal actions, with the Police on alert after a series of attacks that have been recorded recently. Yesterday's criminal act targeted the home of a 39-year-old Russian, causing intense concerns about the possible motives. Authorities do not rule out a link between the attacks, considering the possibility that the motives are related to protection or blackmail issues.
According to information from "F", the perpetrator was riding a motorcycle, while closed surveillance circuits were received from the scene for study, which are expected to contribute to the investigations. The 39-year-old owner of the house was called to testify at the Limassol Police Department, stating that he did not suspect anyone and that he had no personal differences with anyone.
The explosion occurred around 1:50 in the early hours of Friday, January 9, when a firecracker was thrown along with an incendiary object in an open area next to the 39-year-old's residence, where he lives with his wife.
The Limassol Police Department is considering the possibility that the recent attacks are linked, as they show similar characteristics. It is recalled that in the early hours of January 1, the offices of a company that provides loans for the purchase of cars were the target of a bombing. The perpetrator placed an explosive device (paper firecracker with flammable material) at the base of the glass façade of the building and walked away from the scene.
In addition, at the beginning of the year, unknown persons fired at a hotel complex of foreign interests in the area of Agia Zoni. The perpetrators, two people on a motorcycle, repeatedly opened fire, causing a disturbance.
In December 2025, three more similar attacks targeting mainly foreign businessmen were recorded, while the authorities do not rule out the existence of a connection between them and consider it possible that the motives are related to protection or blackmail.
On December 18, 2025, there was an arson in a liquor store in Germasogeia, owned by a well-known Russian businessman and close associate of Stavros Demosthenous. This was preceded by another action against him on October 26, when four of his luxury vehicles, worth more than €1,5 million, were destroyed.
Another incendiary blow occurred on December 8, 2025, when a warning message was sent to a Russian businessman, owner of a car wash in Limassol. Three luxury vehicles were engulfed in flames while they were in a fenced area. He is again a Russian businessman, a close friend of a 40-year-old compatriot.
The only thing that is certain is that the perpetrators do not seem to be intimidated and continue the attacks, probably with the aim of putting pressure on businessmen or affecting their business activities.
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The appeal of a convicted person, who had been found guilty by the Permanent Criminal Court of Limassol for a series of offenses of sexual abuse of a minor, was rejected by the Court of Appeal, with the prison sentences imposed on him remaining in force.
The appellant had been convicted, after a hearing, of six counts of sexual abuse of a child in violation of the Prevention and Combating of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Law. According to the Criminal Court, the accused, abusing a position of trust, power and influence, repeatedly had illegal intercourse with the complainant, who was born around the beginning of 2008.
He abused her on the terrace of her house
The acts were allegedly committed at different times from 2020 to 2021, with three of the charges relating to a period during which the complainant was under 13 years old. The Criminal Court imposed concurrent prison sentences of 10 years for three counts and 12 years for three others. An additional charge was suspended by the Attorney General.
According to the findings of the Court of First Instance, the complainant met the accused a few months after her family moved to a specific village. As it was accepted, the accused repeatedly approached her, expressed feelings of love to her and engaged in sexual acts both on the terrace of her house and in her parents' bedroom, at times when other family members were absent.
He questioned the credibility of the minor
In his appeal, the convicted person put forward three grounds: he questioned the credibility of the complainant's testimony, argued that the investigation of the case by the Police was flawed and that his right to a fair trial was violated, while he claimed that the minor's testimony was instigated or guided.
The Court of Appeal rejected the first and third grounds of appeal, holding that the Criminal Court correctly accepted the complainant's testimony as reliable. As pointed out in the decision, any inconsistencies or delays in disclosing the facts were deemed to be expected, taking into account the age of the complainant, her cultural background, the relationship with the perpetrator and the feelings of fear and shame she described.
The Court adopted the findings of the first instance decision, according to which the complainant, despite the difficulties in descriptive speech and the timing, gave a clear and coherent picture of the facts. The testimony of expert witnesses, including a clinical psychologist, as to the usual reactions of underage victims of sexual abuse and the reasons for the delay in full disclosure was also accepted.
The allegation of incitement of testimony was also rejected, with the Court of Appeal noting that no evidence emerged to support such a possibility, nor was any relevant allegation raised during the cross-examination of key witnesses.
With regard to the second ground of appeal, the Court of Appeal ruled that the failure to carry out an examination of genetic material did not constitute a defective investigation of the case, given that there was no evidence of sexual intercourse on the date in question and that a significant amount of time had elapsed since the events. Consequently, it was held that the appellant's right to a fair trial had not been violated.
Based on the above, the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal in its entirety, upholding the conviction and the sentences imposed by the Permanent Criminal Court of Limassol.
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The Police arrested a 32-year-old man yesterday, to facilitate investigations into an investigated case of car theft, in the province of Nicosia.
The theft of the vehicle was reported to the Police, by its owner, on December 19, 2025. As part of the investigation of the case, information was received by the Police that the vehicle in question was driven by a specific person.
After coordinated actions, members of the Nicosia Police Department spotted yesterday the specific vehicle moving on a Nicosia road. After the vehicle was stopped for inspection, it was found that the driver was the 32-year-old, who was arrested for the self-inflicted crime of illegal possession of property.
The 32-year-old was then taken into custody to facilitate investigations.
The Pera Chorio Police Station is investigating the case.
