Filenews 9 February 2026
Yesterday's raid on a restaurant in the center of the old town of Paphos was described as an operation to suppress crime, the spokesman of the Police, Byron Byron.
In statements to state radio, he said four arrests had been made. The four, according to a police spokesman, were in possession of brass knuckles, other offensive instruments and large sums of money whose origin is being investigated. The spokesman said it has not been finalized whether the four will be brought before the court today for detention orders, with investigations continuing.
According to the Police, 65 persons were located and checked inside the premises. During the checks, the members of the Police proceeded to arrest a 42-year-old man for the spontaneous offenses of illegal possession of property and illegal possession of an offensive weapon. An iron fist and a sum of €3,000 were found and confiscated in his possession, for which no satisfactory explanation was given as to how they were found in his possession.
Three other persons, aged 45, 29 and 30, were also arrested, in whose possession sums of money were found, for which they did not give satisfactory explanations as to how they were found in their possession. Specifically, in the possession of the 45-year-old, the sum of €3,000 was found and confiscated, in the possession of the 29-year-old, a sum of €5,000 and in the possession of the 30-year-old, a sum of €12,810.
Furthermore, from the inspection carried out on the documents of the premises, it was found that it was operating without licenses to operate, sell alcoholic beverages and broadcast music. As a result, the 63-year-old owner of the property was reported in writing.
The operation was implemented after evaluating information related to the gathering of persons known to the authorities inside the premises and according to the Police, the operation was carried out as a precaution to investigate the preparation of any criminal act.
Police official vehicles rushed to the scene late on Sunday night, with members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad, who entered the area where the rally was taking place unexpectedly, while in the wider area patrons and businessmen had been concerned by the surprise intervention of the police forces.
Update - Filenews - The procedure in the Paphos District Court for the detention or not of the four suspects who were arrested last night in a restaurant in the shopping center of Paphos on charges of illegal possession of property and illegal possession of an offensive instrument is proving to be a marathon.
The process started at 11.30 am and at the moment the headquarters has announced a break for a while, before returning to continue the process. The Police have requested the four-day detention of the suspects, with the representative of the Paphos Police Department citing the facts and the reasons why this detention is requested.
Requesting the detention of the four suspects, the spokesman said that important investigative and investigative work is still to be done, since three statements have been taken so far, while another 25 are still to be taken.
Investigations should also be carried out to the Labour Office, as he said, to confirm the claim of two suspects that they are recipients of benefits, to the Larnaca hotel to confirm whether one suspect is staying there as he testified, but also to the bus companies to confirm whether the second suspect went from Larnaca to Paphos by bus, as he testified.
Closed circuits in the area will also be examined, he said, to see how the suspects arrived in the area and whether they were accompanied by other persons in order to give statements as well.
The process will continue.
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The defeat by AEK in the ranks of APOEL brought great disappointment. In fact, the administration of Prodromos Petridis was in the spotlight.
Specifically, according to the Police, after the end of the match, around 150 APOEL fans moved in protest towards the central stand of the stadium. They were stopped by members of the Police and as they left, they started throwing stones at the police.
To deal with the situation, there was a limited use of chemicals by the anti-riot teams and water was thrown by the anti-riot vehicle of the "Ajax" Police.
During the incidents, slight damage was caused to five official vehicles of the Police.
The president of the club, Prodromos Petridis, was at the center of the boos, with slogans and strong voices of protest directed against him.
The tension outside the stadium was maintained for a long time, with the crowd calling for immediate changes and developments.
The atmosphere in APOEL remains heavy, as the continuous negative results have intensified the concern and pressure on the technical leadership and the administration, with the fans demanding an immediate competitive reaction.
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As part of the investigation of a case of possession of drugs (one kilogram of cannabis), the Police proceeded yesterday on the basis of a court warrant to arrest another person.
This is a 27-year-old man, who was taken into custody to facilitate investigations.
It is noted that three more people have been arrested and are in custody for the same case.
YKAN (Larnaca Unit) continues the examinations.
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The presence and action of the Police last night was intense, throughout Cyprus, with organized patrols in key points of urban areas, with the aim of preventing serious criminal acts, ensuring public order and increasing the sense of security of the public.
As a result of the preventive policing operations, eight persons were arrested for various offenses such as causing grievous bodily harm, illegal stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, illegal possession of property and illegal possession of an offensive instrument.
As part of these operations, during the night, 514 drivers and passengers were stopped and checked.
At the same time, 26 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency.
During traffic checks carried out, 142 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 4 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, more than 40 driver complaints for driving under the influence of alcohol stand out. As part of the police examinations, 4 vehicles were detained.
Coordinated policing operations, for the prevention and suppression of crime, continue daily, with an increased/enhanced police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action, with the aim of increasing the sense of security of citizens/protecting citizens and ensuring public order.
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The case of Annies Alexui is being handled by the competent authorities, said government spokesman Konstantinos Letympiotis.
Speaking on state radio and answering a relevant question, the government spokesman said that there is no official information regarding whether Annie Alexui is in Russia under protection.
At the same time, he confirmed that international procedures are underway, as well as contacts with other countries in the context of the investigation of the case, without going into further details.
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Patrons of the Doxa Strovolos Association complain that they were attacked by a person known to the authorities on Sunday night, with the Police looking for him.
According to a post on the page Residents of Strovolos, the injured were taken to the hospital, while the perpetrator escaped and is wanted by the Police. In fact, it is noted that the motives of the attack were probably political.
According to information from Filenews, the complainant of the attack was discharged from the Hospital, while the authorities issued an arrest warrant for a specific person.
The post
LAST NIGHT ON 8/2/26, PATRONS OF DOXA STROVOLOS WERE BEATEN BY A PERSON KNOWN TO THE AUTHORITIES FOR HIS ACTION. THE INJURED WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. THE PERPETRATOR ESCAPED AND IS WANTED. POLITICALLY PROBABLE MOTIVES.
The patrons of the historic club of Doxa Strovolos, mainly the elderly, were attacked for the second time by a well-known person for his action. In a furious state and for no reason, the perpetrator shouted, threatened and beat patrons. When he saw the beacons of the patrol cars, he said to patrons: "Tell them not to give a statement otherwise I will kill them" and got into the car and escaped.
There are security cameras in the area and the police are processing the material and taking statements.
The same thing happened a few days ago by the same person. He was arrested but the police claim that the Court released him and continued his action. It should be noted that during the arrest he told the police "I have the Minister on the line....he wants to talk to you."
The issue may take on uncontrollable proportions if it becomes clear that the attacks are being carried out for pre-election reasons, since this person publicly says that he belongs to a specific political space and has close contacts with a parliamentary candidate in Nicosia and wants this area under his control and considers that he has full coverage in his actions. He prides himself on going in and out of the office of the leader of a political party and it is possible that the attack involves a two-way service of interests. His wife was a candidate in the last elections with this party.
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The intention of the prosecuting authority to hand over the thousands of documents of the Central Prisons, except for the 2.500 classified ones for which an evaluation will be carried out, was expressed today by its representative before the Nicosia Criminal Court.
As he told the Court, for classified documents that may endanger public safety, such as maps of the Prisons and recordings of conversations of a client lawyer, the possibility of giving limited access will be considered.
According to the senior lawyer of the Republic, Mrs. Anna Mattheou, the prosecution will give the defense a document on the issue of classified documents and a summary. Where safety issues do not arise, they will be given access inspection. Instructions were given to the Police, he said, so that they could go through the documents and decide which ones to refuse access to.
To do this, he asked for a one-month postponement to decide which documents will be given access.
The defense rejected this position, stating that all documents should be given and judge which ones are confidential. Anna Aristotelous' lawyer, Christos Triantafyllidis, stressed that the content of the documents does not cover the term confidential, such as prison plans and others.
For his part, Athena Dimitriou's lawyer, Sotiris Argyrou, stated that all the documents must be provided, called on the Court to examine whether the procedure followed is the correct one and asked the Court to order the suspension of the further proceedings until it is decided what the prosecution will do. The eight defendants cannot be harassed and the police are concerned with whether to give the documents, he concluded.
The lawyer of the chief security guard in whose home the documents were found, stated that they include personal documents of her client and that all documents should be given to the defense.
The lawyer of the three female prison guards, Alexandros Clerides, stated that they are now coming and saying that they will process the documents and argued that it is an early registration of the case. He submitted the recommendation to give a suspension and in the future to return with a new indictment. There is a question of a fair trial, he concluded.
The representative of the prosecution, responding to the positions of the defense, stated that she has not denied access to evidence but that we are asking for time to see the classified ones so that security issues of the Republic are not affected. Our aim is to limit the rights of the accused to a minimum. Lawyer-client conversations have been identified in the presumptions, the possession of which is a criminal offense. Among the documents are medical certificates of prisoners which constitute private life.
Furthermore, Ms. Mattheou referred to the concept of top secret and confidential documents, our intention is to re-check them and give access. Leaking such information is a criminal offence, as is leaking personal data. Today, the prosecution does not refuse access to any documents. If access is restricted, then the Court will be able to inspect them and judge accordingly.
Regarding the position for the interruption of the process raised by Ms. Dimitriou's lawyer, Ms. Mattheou stated that nothing related to a fair trial was raised. The position of the prosecution authority is to give all the documents that are not classified and for those that are to limit them to a minimum
The Court asked to know which documents were given to the defense, with Ms. Mattheou answering that only the testimonies were given, but not the documents. The decision on the issue raised will be given in due course.
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in-cyprus
Police investigators have identified a fourth victim allegedly tortured inside a makeshift “interrogation room” at a Pyla casino, as authorities widen their probe into a violent organised crime syndicate.
The discovery stems from the forensic analysis of 25 videos found on two mobile devices belonging to a 48-year-old remand prisoner, who is already facing charges for a shooting in central Larnaca and the brutal assault of a citizen. According to the Larnaca Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the videos depict seven individuals—both Cypriots and foreign nationals—being subjected to savage beatings, with the 48-year-old suspect allegedly seen forcing handguns into the mouths of his victims.
The torture room, located on the first floor of a casino in the bi-communal village of Pyla, was identified by investigators who matched the distinctive sofa and wall décor seen in the footage to the physical premises. While a raid on the office yielded no weapons, police have seized various forensic evidence for scientific testing.
Investigators are currently searching for the two pistols and knives featured in the recordings, while simultaneously analyzing more than 3,000 photos and videos to determine if the syndicate is responsible for further undisclosed crimes.
The victims were reportedly tortured to extort money or to force “confessions” regarding alleged criminal plots against the 48-year-old, who claims he was the target of a previous arson attack and a separate assassination plot.
The case has also led to the detention of a 27-year-old, while a third suspect remains at large, wanted for his alleged role in both the Pyla torture incidents and the earlier Larnaca shooting.
Update - Filenews - Another person has been identified, who was allegedly tortured in a hellhole office located in a casino in Pyla. According to the Police, it is related to the 48-year-old man on trial for the shooting in the center of Larnaca and for beating a citizen. According to information from Filenews, so far 4 of the 7 persons who appear to be brutally abused have been identified in videos found on 2 mobile phones of the 48-year-old.
These are Cypriots and foreigners, who have been summoned to deposit at the Larnaca Police Department. In the coming hours, it is possible that there will be new arrests in the case, since at least two other people seem to be involved in the torture. It is recalled that in addition to the 48-year-old, a 27-year-old man from Palestine is also in custody for the case, while another foreigner is wanted, who was allegedly involved in the Larnaca incident.
The investigations of the Larnaca Police Department continue at other levels with the aim of identifying the two pistols that the 48-year-old defendant allegedly put in the mouths of victims, as well as the knives and other offensive instruments that can be seen in 25 videos, related to the brutal beatings of the 7 persons. In the office, located on the first floor of the casino, no weapons or offensive instruments were found, according to information. However, based on the sofa and images on the wall, it was identified that this is the place where the torture seems to have taken place, while the 48-year-old defendant was also placed in it. Other items have been received by the office, which have been sent for scientific examinations. At the same time, the analysis of the 3.000 photos and videos found on the 48-year-old's two mobile phones continues, in order to clarify whether other criminal actions have been recorded.
It is recalled that, according to what was said yesterday before the court where the suspects were taken, the 7 victims were brutally tortured either to pay money or to confess to involvement in alleged criminal acts against the 48-year-old. It is noted that several months ago, unknown persons had set fire to the vehicle of the 48-year-old defendant, while he claims that there was also a plan to murder him. And this aspect of the case is expected to be investigated by the Police, after the investigative testimony that will be received from the defendant.
