Thursday, May 14, 2026

CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Live 14 May 2026



As part of actions taken by the Anti-Narcotics Service in cooperation with the Customs Department to detect and seize narcotic substances imported into the Republic of Cyprus, a package was found in the previous days, at Larnaca airport, which came from a third country and was considered suspicious.

Specifically, during the customs control, it was found that the specific package contained a quantity of cannabis with a total gross weight of four kilograms and 434 grams.

The package was confiscated and received for further examinations while YKAN continues the investigation.


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Pafos Press

The Police have arrested the accomplice of the father, who kidnapped his 23-month-old child from his mother in Limassol.


Specifically, a 53 year old was located around 10.10 last night in Larnaca and arrested pursuant to a court warrant to facilitate investigations regarding a case of kidnapping a minor in Limassol.  

He was then taken to the Limassol Police Department where he was taken into custody.  

According to information, the 53-year-old appears to have been an accomplice of the child's father.


It is recalled that shocking details are coming to light regarding the case of abduction of a child by his father in Limassol, which is under investigation by the Authorities.


According to information from SigmaLive, he is a Turkish national who allegedly resides in occupied Famagusta and entered the free areas illegally. An arrest warrant has been pending against him since October for an assault case, while he is also allegedly involved in drug trafficking cases. At the same time, he was on the entry ban list.


According to the complaint, the suspect went to the mother's house in the Limassol district in a rented vehicle, accompanied by the 53-year-old. According to the complaint, there he allegedly attacked the woman and attempted to drown her in the house's swimming pool. He then grabbed the 23-month-old child and disappeared.


He then returned to occupied Famagusta, where he allegedly posted a video with the child on social media. In fact, he personally sent the material to the mother, telling her that if she wished, she could go to the occupied territories to pick up the child.


In the video, he is said to say, "My lion, your father would give his life for you, my child. If there is someone brave enough to take you from me, let him come and we will see."


The Limassol TAE continues the exams.

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The Police proceeded to arrest a 32-year-old yesterday, as part of an investigation into a case involving robbery, stabbing, possession and transportation of an offensive instrument.


According to a complaint made to the Police, on 09/05/2026, at around 8pm, while he was in an area of ​​Nicosia, two individuals approached him and asked for money. One of the perpetrators pulled out a knife and slightly injured the complainant, while the second hit him in the hand with a stick. After immobilizing him, they stole his wallet containing a sum of money.


The 32-year-old was located and arrested by members of the Ledra Substation last night, while today he is expected to appear before Court for the issuance of a detention order.


The Nicosia Police are investigating the case.

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Filenews

An alarm was sounded in the early hours of Wednesday in Geroskipou, after an explosion occurred in the yard of a house, causing a disturbance but without recording damage or injuries.

According to the Police, around 00:30 a Greek Cypriot resident contacted the Police stating that she woke up to a loud noise, which looked like an explosion and came from the yard of her house.

Members of the Police immediately rushed to the scene and carried out initial examinations, without, however, finding any damage to the house or the surrounding area.

While investigating the case, authorities found a sealed plastic water bottle containing flammable liquid in the yard, as well as an improvised object with flammable material and a firecracker. The firecracker appears to have exploded, but without causing the liquid to ignite, which probably prevented more serious consequences.

With the first light of day, the examinations by the competent crews continued and it was found that the explosion was caused by a factory firecracker. The bottle with the flammable contents, which was received for scientific examinations, was still at the scene.

The Police continue the investigations to determine the circumstances under which the objects were placed in the yard, as well as the motives behind the action. The case is being investigated by the Paphos Police Department.

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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 including illegal possession of drugs, carrying knives and illegal possession of property.

During the night, 388 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 476 drivers and passengers were checked. At the same time, 41 inspections of premises were carried out, from which 4 complaints emerged.

During traffic checks carried out, 219 complaints were made about various traffic violations, of which 81 concern speeding. A total of 61 alcohol tests were carried out during which two drivers were found positive. Also, as part of the police examinations, two vehicles were detained.

Coordinated policing operations, for the prevention and suppression of crime, continue daily, with an enhanced police presence, targeted controls and immediate operational action, in order to protect citizens and ensure public order.

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A mammoth amount was found by the Customs in a car that was trying to pass through the Agios Dometios roadblock, as the passengers were carrying over €208.000 in various banknotes.

A relevant announcement states that on 13/5/2026, officials of the Customs Department, as part of the usual checks they carry out for the implementation of the Green Line Regulation at the Agios Dometios crossing point, proceeded to check a passing vehicle driven by a 49-year-old Turkish Cypriot woman with her 50-year-old husband as a passenger, where they found a large amount of cash in various currencies.

Specifically, during the physical inspection of the vehicle, 50 different envelopes were found which contained euro banknotes, English pounds, US dollars and Turkish lira, the exchange rate of which exceeds €208,000 as follows

:>> €169,950 
>> $20,300USD (approximately €17,400)
>> £11275GBP (approximately €12,900)
>> £435,605TRL (approximately €8,350).

The parties involved, after being questioned by the officials, made some allegations about the origin and intended use of the cash, which, however, were not considered sufficiently satisfactory and for this reason the entire amount of cash was withheld for further investigation, mainly regarding the source of the money.

The case is being further handled and investigated by the Investigation Sector of the Customs Office.

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Two members of the Police were recently acquitted of the serious charges they faced for torture and degrading treatment against an Iranian national in 2016. The investigation process until the final took 10 years, after the appointment of an independent criminal investigator.

A court in Limassol acquitted both police officers, after first finding a prima facie case for only one and only for the charges of inhumane treatment and assault. Then, after evaluating the testimony of the police officers, he also acquitted him after it was judged that there was no background to convict him.

According to the complainant, on 9/9/2016 the accused, as members of the Police, went to the house where he lived with his wife, in the context of a family dispute with relatives of his wife and entered it. According to his version, during their presence in the house, defendant 1 displayed aggressive and offensive behaviour, forced him to sit in a chair, restricted his freedom of movement, insulted him with references, among other things, to his country, religion and nationality, threw water in his face and beat him. Furthermore, he states that he was handcuffed, placed in a patrol vehicle, where he remained for some time and then transferred to the Germasogeia Police Station. As for defendant 2, the complainant's testimony is limited to his presence at the house during the events and his general participation in the police intervention, without a clear attribution of specific acts of violence.

criminal investigator was appointed by the IAEA to investigate the case. His testimony was limited to the presentation of the investigative material he collected, as the complainant himself did not have a direct perception of the facts in question, while the persons from whom testimonies were taken were not, for the most part, called to testify before the Court.

The Judge considered the complainant's testimony to be sufficient to cover, at first sight, the constituent elements of both the infliction of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the attack that caused actual bodily harm, provided that direct testimony is provided for violent and humiliating behaviour on the part of a public official and for subsequent bodily injuries. In relation to the accusation of subjection to torture, the Court did not find, in the testimony submitted, sufficient evidence for that specific element that distinguishes this offence from other forms of ill-treatment, namely the specific purpose. Even if it were to be considered, for the purposes of this stage, that the behaviour described by the complainant involved deliberately causing pain or suffering, there is no evidence that it was intended to extract information or a confession. That is why he acquitted and acquitted both police officers of the charge of degrading treatment.

In another decision, the same Court, after defendant 1 made a statement, finally ruled that from the findings of fact, it does not appear, with the required certainty, that he subjected the complainant to treatment of such a nature that could be reduced to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, it ruled that no aggravating presumption of abuse can be inferred against defendant 1. In order to activate this presumption, it is required, inter alia, to prove that the person had been arrested or otherwise detained at a Police Station and that, during the medical examination before or immediately after his release, external injuries were found which he did not have at the time of his admission to the Station. In the present case, such a basis has not been established.

As for the crime of assault, the Court ruled that there is no reliable proof of when and under what circumstances it was committed, while the complainant's testimony was unstable and variable. In the end, the second police officer was acquitted of all charges.

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A fire broke out in the early hours of the morning in two private vehicles, which were parked on a sidewalk outside a couple's residence in Agios Athanasios, Limassol. The two cars belonged to the same owner.

According to the Fire Service, the response was made at 01:58, with three staffed fire trucks rushing to the scene.

As a result of the fire, the first vehicle suffered damage to the engine part, while the second vehicle suffered extensive damage.

From the examinations it appears that the fire was set maliciously using flammable material.

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Illegalities related to fuel and the sale of tobacco products were detected by the Customs during inspections in Limassol.

In one case, on 13/05/2026, checks were carried out inside the port of Limassol on trucks to identify possible illegal use of coloured heating oil for their movement. Of the 55 inspections carried out in total, 2 trucks were found to be using coloured heating oil for their movement.

The trucks were immediately confiscated by the Customs Department and handed over back to the beneficiaries at their request for an out-of-court settlement, which was accepted by the Director of the Customs Department with the payment of an amount of €2,000 for each for the customs charges and the amount for return of each vehicle.

In another case, on 06/05/2026 and 13/05/2026, inspections were carried out in the Limassol district at premises (kiosks) that sell tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. From a total of 6 inspections, it was found that the 4 premises had tobacco products and/or alcoholic beverages for sale without having a valid sales license, which is issued/renewed by the Municipality. The managers of the premises requested the out-of-court settlement of the offenses against the amount of €100 per license, which was accepted by the Director of the Customs Department.

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The Customs proceeded to locate and confiscate animal products at the Deryneia crossing point.

Specifically, on 13/05/2026, officials of the Customs Department, in the context of the usual checks they carry out for the implementation of the Green Line Regulation at the Deryneia crossing point, detected in 2 cases the transport of animal products in vehicles driven by our foreign fellow citizens, in violation of the relevant Regulation.

In the first case, about 3kg of chicken pieces, 1.8 liters of dairy products and 30 eggs were found,

In the second case, about 450g of fresh beef, 1.5 liters of dairy product and 24 eggs were found.

The above products were confiscated and will be led to destruction based on the prescribed procedures.

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As part of the actions of the Police to prevent and combat organized crime, after analyzing and evaluating information, two operations were carried out today in Limassol, during which three persons were arrested.

He is a 45-year-old member of the Police, against whom the crime of money laundering is being investigated. A search carried out today at the home of the specific person identified and confiscated various items, while a relevant Court order froze property over €220,000, which includes a luxury car.

The other two arrests concern a 49-year-old and a 50-year-old woman, against whom offenses related to participation in a criminal organization and money laundering are being investigated. In a search carried out at the home of the two persons, various items were found and confiscated, while property in excess of €200,000 was frozen, on the basis of a Court order, which includes four luxury cars. Investigations are ongoing.