Filenews 17 January 2026
The Minister of Justice and Public Order, Mr. Kostas Fytiris, was at the Larnaca Police Directorate after the bloody incident with the shooting that happened in the afternoon in a busy part of the city.
"Tonight's incident in the city of Larnaca shows that crime has been emboldened, it has reached a point where it must be cracked down on in every way. The government is determined to crack down on organized crime and any other illegalities.
This incident deeply saddens us, but we will do everything possible to crack down on evil at its root. Unfortunately, we do not have all the supplies and that is why I would like to call on the Parliament with what is pending so that it can provide supplies to the Police, to pass them as soon as possible so that we can be one step ahead of organized crime.
I would also like to call on the citizens, even anonymously, to denounce any attempt, either to influence them or to come to their attention, because otherwise, we will not be able to crack down on the root of evil. The cooperation of the state, the Parliament and the citizens is necessary in order to be able to strike at the root of organized crime," the Minister said in his statements.
Asked if today's incident is related to organized crime, the Minister replied that "this is being examined and is the most likely. Factions competing with each other, that's why we have to strike, to enter as a state, as an executive power with the cooperation of the citizens, whatever information they have, even anonymously, we don't need to know the names of the citizens, in order to be able to prevent situations, to intervene preventively and not after the incident.''
Asked to comment on what the plan is for Larnaca, after the President's recent announcement of increased patrols by the MMAD, Mr. Fytiris replied that "for all cities there is a plan to strengthen the front-line force and this is what we will do in the coming months.
Unfortunately, it is not a simple thing, it is not a button that I raise and lower, but our intention is within the next few months to strengthen the police directorates, either with a permanent force, or auxiliary, in addition so that this force can supervise and control all cities as a preventive measure."
Asked to comment on journalistic information that today's episode concerns "protection" issues, the Minister replied that "all possibilities are being considered, it is very likely that it is what you are saying. The Police are already in the process of making arrests which result from the evidence they have."
As for one of the people appearing in the video and who has concerned the authorities in the past, Mr. Fytiris replied that the Police are investigating it and news will emerge very soon. On whether aid was requested in the area for tonight, the Minister replied that the aid will be in the area for the next period as well. "After December 20, the operations of the Police have multiplied, but we will intensify them more to prevent situations. This is the goal," said the Minister.
