Pafos Live 9 April 2026
Members of OPE Larnaca stopped for a check around 11 this morning on a road in the province of Larnaca, a car driven by a 64-year-old resident of the province of Nicosia.
During the investigation that followed, two packages containing a total of 60 firecrackers were found inside the car.
The 64-year-old was taken to the Oroklini Police Station where he was interrogated and charged in writing and released to be summoned before a Court, while the two packages of firecrackers were confiscated as evidence.
The Oroklini Police Station continues the examinations.
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Filenews
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, seven (7) persons were arrested, for offenses such as insult, assault and resistance, indecent assault, rioting, illegal possession of explosives, carrying knives, theft, drunkenness and assault on a police officer.
As part of these operations, during the night, 852 drivers and passengers were stopped and checked.
At the same time, 40 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, where a complaint emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 227 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 48 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 78 driver complaints for exceeding the speed limit stand out, while more than 80 alcohol tests were carried out where three complaints emerged.
As part of the police examinations, 48 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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Investigations and interrogations are being carried out by the TAE of Morphou after a woman's complaint about rape and brutal attack she received from a person she knew and had met last Saturday night.
The woman had been found injured in an area of the Morphou apartment where the suspect had abandoned her and from the findings of the medical examination and her words, she had been raped and assaulted. This is a 43-year-old woman who in her testimony has reported what she experienced from a 39-year-old person.
As it was found, after tests, she has bruises and bruises on various parts of her body and mainly on the neck and abdominal area.
She, according to information from Filenews, had boarded his vehicle where he took her to Nicosia and then to his village in the area of the Morphou apartment where he abandoned her. Both from the findings of the forensic examination and from what she has testified, the Morphou Police Department has proceeded to arrest the 39-year-old who is named as the person who allegedly carried out what is attributed to him.
On Holy Monday, he was taken to the Nicosia District Court which issued an eight-day detention order against him. It is expected that within the day she will be interrogated to give answers and explanations, while the Police are also looking for videos from closed circuits and other testimonies related to this serious case and especially about the course they followed until she was found injured.
The Police are examining a case of attempted murder, kidnapping and rape of a woman and from the progress of the investigations it will become clear which offenses will eventually arise. For the case, the Police have not issued any announcement due to the nature of the offenses being examined for the purpose of protecting the woman.
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Change of data in a high-profile case of an alleged criminal group that provided protection to businesses in Larnaca. With yesterday's decision, the Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca released, under conditions, three of the four defendants, based on the removal of offenses from the indictment.
They are a 42-year-old man and two 29-year-olds, whose defense attorneys, Christos Poutziouris, Artemis Markou and Nikolas Kantaras, had objected to their detention. Only SYOP remains on trial, which is also accused of the attempted murder of a well-known businessman, while in a previous procedure a 32-year-old man was acquitted, due to insufficient testimony.
The court ruled that due to the substantial change in the indictment, the re-examination of the request for the detention of the three defendants is justified. It also took into account their personal circumstances, as well as their ties with the Republic of Cyprus which reduces the risk of evading justice in other countries.
The three were released and ordered that each of them sign a bail of €30,000 with creditable guarantors, hand over their travel documents and report 3 times a week to a police station. In addition, their names were placed on the stop list. As mentioned above by the indictment of the case, several charges have been removed.
The 42-year-old now faces charges of money laundering as well as participation in a criminal organization, while the two 29-year-olds face an additional charge for money laundering. They all replied that they did not plead guilty and the hearing of the case was set for May 5.
It is recalled that alleged action of the criminal network came to light when videos were found on two mobile phones, which had been confiscated during the arrest of a 22-year-old Contracted Private of the National Guard, who is accused of the attempted murder of a 47-year-old businessman last July.
It is noted that the businessman in question was referred to trial for interfering in a judicial process, in relation to the case of shooting in the center of Larnaca and is free on parole. The videos found on the mobile phones depict various incidents from 2023-2025, in which the 22-year-old allegedly shows large sums of money.
As it was told in court during the detention process, a video was also found on the mobile phone of SYOP, in which he appears to show money from the collection of a specific nightclub in the Mackenzie area. In the house of the 42-year-old, alleged head of the network, a notebook with names was also found, next to which sums of money were written.
It is noted that the Police stated that they checked the declared financial data of the accused and found, as reported in court, that they were not consistent with their assets.
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The decision of the Limassol Criminal Court in one of the most serious drug cases ever dealt with by the Cypriot courts was a catapult, imposing heavy multi-year prison sentences on the two defendants for importing and trafficking huge quantities of drugs. This is a huge amount of drugs, which was found last September in inflatable toys that came in a container by boat from Thessaloniki.
The Limassol Assize Court imposed yesterday, Holy Wednesday, the 62-year-old Greek and the 47-year-old man with prison sentences of 22 and 20 years respectively, after admitting to charges of importation and possession for the purpose of supplying cannabis, with a total weight of 90 kilograms and 498 grams. At the same time, they were sentenced to 16 and 14 years respectively for the same charges in relation to cocaine weighing 4 kilograms and 912 grams. The penalties imposed will be concurrent.
According to the facts of the case, following information, YKAN in cooperation with the customs authorities located in a container, which arrived at the port of Limassol on September 23, 2025 from the port of Thessaloniki, three large inflatable toys with cases and three blowers, in which the above quantities of drugs were hidden. In relation to cocaine, scientific examinations showed that its quantification amounted to 87%.
In imposing the sentence, the Court emphasized that the offenses committed by the defendants are extremely serious, making it imperative to impose dissuasive penalties, due to the escalation observed. He also noted that the present case is one of the most serious drug cases that have dealt with the Cypriot courts.
The Criminal Court ruled that a decisive element in the context of the imposition of the sentence was the huge amount of narcotic substances, while both their type and the high purity of the cocaine were taken into account. The Court underlined the essential role of the defendants, who acted as importers and traffickers of drugs, participating in a well-organized and methodical drug trafficking system with activity in Greece and Cyprus, which makes the offenses particularly serious.
In the context of the individualization of the sentence, the Court took into account the personal and family circumstances of the accused, noting, however, that in offences that are on the rise, personal circumstances are of limited importance. He also took into account their admission, the criminal record of the 62-year-old defendant, who has a previous conviction for similar offenses, as well as the clean criminal record of the 49-year-old defendant, which contributed to his different criminal treatment. In addition, their efforts for rehabilitation, the 62-year-old's health problems, the good behaviour he shows in the Central Prisons, as well as his age were taken into account.
The case was set for a hearing in relation to the 30-year-old defendant, who does not admit the charges, on June 25.
Ioanna Mantziipa
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Various prison sentences, with the longest amounting to 7 years, were imposed yesterday (8/4) by the Limassol Permanent Criminal Court on a 27-year-old defendant, who admitted a series of serious offenses, including illegal possession and transport of a firearm, possession and use of explosives, possession with the purpose of supplying drugs to other persons and causing grievous bodily harm. The case concerns the shooting incident that took place on the afternoon of December 30, 2025, in the area of Agia Fyla.
It is noted that the accused also faced charges related to offenses of attempted murder, for which the criminal prosecution was suspended, as a result of which he was acquitted. The 27-year-old's partner was also co-accused in the case, who was found guilty, after admitting to the charge of possession of 302 grams of cannabis for the purpose of supplying to other persons. The Court sentenced the 22-year-old to two and a half years in prison with a suspended sentence.
According to the Court's decision, the accused is charged with a previous conviction by the Limassol Criminal Court, on 16/2/2022, when he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for offenses of possession of class B controlled drugs for the purpose of supply. On 9/11/2023, the Council for the Release of Prisoners on Leave decided his conditional release, effective from 10/11/2023 until July 2025.
As pointed out in the decision, the facts of the present case are aggravating for the 27-year-old. "Without ignoring that there was no premeditation or pre-planning in his actions and that the complainants came to his house in a threatening mood, calling him to leave, after an argument with one of them on the phone, the accused initially remained inside his house and fired a number of shots both at them and in the air, with the use of a firearm which he illegally possessed. Also, again without ignoring the fact that these persons chose not to leave, despite the advice of a neighbor, one of the complainants threw a metal basket at the front door of the 27-year-old's house, calling him to come out. The latter jumped out of the window and started running and shooting at them with the pistol, shouting at them that "he will play them". Although the complainants tried to escape at that stage, the 27-year-old chased them and shot one in the leg", with the Court underlining that it was a matter of luck that the other two persons were not injured.
It is noted that a quantity of cannabis of 2 kilograms and 898 grams was found in the home of the 27-year-old, as well as cocaine of 84 grams as well as electronic cigarettes containing cannabinol. As for the 22-year-old accused, her involvement is found in the fact that she carried a bag containing a quantity of cannabis in various packages from the 27-year-old's car and placed it in her home.
The accused was sentenced to various prison sentences, with the longest in the charge of possession of cannabis of 2 kilograms and 898 grams for the purpose of supply, for which he was sentenced to 7 years, while he was sentenced to 4,5 years for the charge of causing grievous bodily harm.
The 22-year-old was sentenced to 2,5 years in prison for possession for the purpose of supplying 300 grams of cannabis, with the Court noting that in this case the exercise of its discretion in favour of suspending the execution of the sentence is justified. As it is pointed out, the absence of any benefit, her admission, her clean criminal record and her age were taken into account, as a result of which the sentence was suspended for a period of three years.
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The Police proceeded yesterday to arrest a 37-year-old man, as part of the investigation of cases involving the offenses of sexual harassment, indecent assault and assault causing actual bodily harm.
The cases under investigation concern complaints about incidents allegedly committed on March 27 and April 4, 2026, in Limassol.
The 37-year-old was arrested on a court warrant and taken into custody for the purpose of investigating the cases.
The Germasogeia Police Station continues the examinations.
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With intensified patrols and controls in all provinces, the actions of the Police continued yesterday, as well as during the night, to prevent the use of firecrackers, the lighting of lamps and phenomena of juvenile delinquency.
As part of these actions, Police patrols responded to various incidents of lighting fires and the use of firecrackers, in places where young people gather, while in some cases members of the Fire Service were also called to extinguish the fires.
In the province of Larnaca, around 9.45 p.m., members of the Police went to an open area where there were gathered young people who set fire and threw firecrackers. Upon the arrival of the members of the Police, the young people fled, however, the arrest of two of them, aged 19, was achieved. In a subsequent search, one was found in possession of a knife and four cylindrical firecrackers. Three cylindrical firecrackers were found in the possession of the second. The two 19-year-olds were arrested and taken into custody to facilitate investigations.
In the province of Limassol, during a check in a churchyard, young people were found, one of whom, aged 16, insulted the members of the Police and tried to escape, as a result of which he was arrested. Also, in another case in Limassol, a fire was found near a church, where it was extinguished by members of the Fire Service.
In the province of Nicosia, in two cases the members of the Police responded to incidents where there were gatherings of young people who had lit fires and used firecrackers. To extinguish the fire, the intervention of members of the Fire Service was needed.
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The British Bases Police responded to a serious incident that took place in the area of Trachoni in the early morning hours of April 9, in which a group of young people and foreigners were involved.
According to information from the British Bases Police, three people were injured, while two arrests have been made.
A full investigation of the case is being carried out, including examinations for possible offences that may be related to a racist motive.
More information will be released when this is possible, the authorities of the British bases say.
