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 police operations, ten people were arrested for various offenses, such as illegal possession of drugs and illegal stay in the Republic.
As part of these operations, during the night, 525 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 681 persons on board were checked. At the same time, 45 inspections were carried out in premises with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, during which 3 complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 293 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 15 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 106 concerned exceeding the speed limit, while as part of the police examinations, 13 vehicles were detained.
165 alcohol tests were carried out, from which 8 complaints emerged, as well as 5 preliminary drug tests with a positive result.
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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Two people aged 51 and 47 were arrested yesterday at noon and taken into custody to facilitate investigations into an investigated case of illegal possession of drugs.
Specifically, in the context of collecting and evaluating data, members of YKAN stopped for inspection a car that was moving on a road in the province of Nicosia and was driven by a 51-year-old man.
During the investigation that followed, a quantity of dry plant matter with a total gross weight of 90 grams and a half-smoked handmade cigarette containing cannabis were found. The 51-year-old was arrested for a self-inflicted crime and was taken into custody.
Subsequently, in the context of the same case, members of YKAN stopped a car driven by a 47-year-old man on a street in Nicosia for a check.
During the search, three knives were found inside the vehicle that end in a pointed edge. The 47-year-old was arrested for a self-inflicted crime and taken into custody, while subsequently, a search was carried out at his home where the following were located and confiscated:
A crusher with traces of cannabis
A sum of €10,800
Various other items that were received for further examination
The two arrested are expected to be brought before the Nicosia District Court this morning for the procedure for issuing detention orders.
YKAN continues the examinations.
The Larnaca Criminal Court yesterday sentenced two 22-year-olds to six and two and a half years in prison, after finding them guilty of charges of illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of drugs for the purpose of supplying to other persons.
Specifically, after a coordinated operation by YKAN on January 31, 2026 in Larnaca, more than one and a half kilograms of cannabis were found, with the Police proceeding to arrest the two convicts.
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The Larnaca Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a 23-year-old man to five years in prison after finding him guilty of charges of illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of drugs for the purpose of supplying to other persons.
Specifically, after a coordinated operation by YKAN on February 6, 2026 in Larnaca, about a kilogram of cannabis was found with the Police proceeding to arrest the convict.
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The investigations of the Lania Police Station and the Limassol Police Department are underway to identify the persons who were carrying out work of cutting large irons using emeryl in the area of Agios Mamas and Limnatis, in the province of Limassol, when the fire broke out.
According to information on our website, from the on-site examinations of the investigators, emeryl cutting discs (discs) were found in the area, which were received as evidence for examination purposes. The same information states that unknown persons had gone to the scene to cut large irons into smaller pieces, so that they could then load them into a vehicle and transport them. Because there is no electricity in the area, the authorities estimate that a battery was used.
The Fire Brigade was alerted by a person who was in a building, close to where the cutting work was taking place. According to the same information, the specific person, while performing work in the construction, heard voices. Going out, he realized that a fire had broken out and rushed to put it out, however he did not succeed as the fire had already spread.
With the outbreak of the fire, the people who carried out the cutting work left the area. The Police continue the examinations to locate them, while statements are expected to be taken from persons who may have realized their presence in the area or the vehicle in which they were moving.
According to the spokesman of the Department of Forests, Glafkos Kyriakou, all the evidence so far converges that the fire was caused by sparks created during the cutting. As he told us in his statements, the "zero point" of the fire is the area where the iron-cutting work was carried out, an element that reinforces the possibility that the fire was caused by the sparks of the tool.
It is recalled that, according to an announcement by the Department of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, the fire broke out at 11:15, at the location "Anentrada", within the administrative boundaries of the community of Agios Mamas, in the province of Limassol.The fire was brought under full control at 12:40, after burning an area of about one and a half hectares with agricultural crops and low wild vegetation.
The firefighting operation involved 45 members of the Forestry Department with seven fire trucks, a tanker truck and a land pusher. At the same time, 17 members of the Fire Service assisted with five fire trucks, two tankers and three land pushers, eight people from the District Administration with four fire trucks, six members of the Civil Defense, as well as five aircraft of the Republic.
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An alarm was sounded by the authorities as, shortly after 5:00 in the afternoon, a fire broke out in the Stavrovouni forest.
According to the Representative of the Department of Forests, Glafkos Kyriakou, the "Astrapi" and "Hephaestus II" plan was implemented to extinguish the fire with the participation of flying means.
"As soon as we were informed about the fire, we immediately raised the aircraft and a retarder was also dropped to approach and extinguish the fire," he said and underlined that: "We prevented it before the inaccessible area."
We are on red alert, he also underlined. "This means that we are in the highest operational readiness and that we are stopping any work and focusing only on fire readiness. We have increased patrols by forest officials. In addition to the fire lookouts, we also have observatories manned by a forest officer and forest firefighters," he said.
The fire, he said, broke out from the work of a beekeeper, who reportedly admitted.
What the Department of Forests says
A forest fire is under full control on the outskirts of the Stavrovouni State Forest, within the administrative boundaries of the community of Anglisides.
The Department of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment announces that today, Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 16:50, a fire broke out on the outskirts of the Stavrovouni State Forest, within the administrative boundaries of the community of Anglisides, putting the State Forest in immediate danger.
The fire was brought under full control at 17:30, after burning an area of four tens with agricultural crops and low wild vegetation.
30 people from the Department of Forests participated in the extinguishing operation with 9 fire trucks and 1 earth pusher. 10 people from the Fire Service with 3 fire trucks, 1 private excavator and 1 private agricultural tractor as well as volunteers also participated. The firefighting operation was also assisted by 5 aircraft of the Republic.
The fire was caused during the execution of beekeeping work.
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Almost half a century ago, the dispute over the expropriation of land in Limassol began and ended in the Court of Appeal with the rejection of the appeal of property owners against the Republic of Cyprus. In a unanimous decision, dated July 16, 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance judgment, rejecting all 16 grounds of appeal and awarding costs of €4,000 plus VAT, where applicable, in favour of the Republic.The case concerned the expropriation of an area of 2,007 sq.m. from the property of a deceased woman, which was carried out in 1977 for the needs of improvement, alignment and asphalting of the Limassol - Nicosia road. The works were completed in 1979-1980, while later the rest of the property was transferred to her sons.
The appellants claimed compensation for the value of the expropriated land, loss of use and enjoyment of the property for a number of years, alternatively compensation of €80,000 for the construction of a road or a decree obliging the Republic to construct a road with direct access to Spyros Kyprianou Avenue, as well as punitive damages.
Their main claim was that during the withdrawal of a previous judicial referral in 1993, an agreement had been reached with the state, according to which the family would abandon the claim for compensation and in return the Republic would build a road, sidewalks and other infrastructure that would ensure direct access of the property to the avenue.
The Court of Appeal held that the existence of such an agreement had never been proven. As stated in the decision, the testimony and documents of the case did not show either an explicit proposal or acceptance that would establish a contractual obligation of the state. At the same time, it was noted that no testimony was presented that the terms of the expropriation or the relevant plan were violated.
The judges also rejected the claim that a letter from the Land Registry of 1992 was an assurance for the construction of sidewalks and other infrastructure, considering that it was purely informative in nature. In addition, they considered that the construction of sidewalks and infrastructure networks concerns a subsequent urban planning project and not the project of the specific expropriation.
The Court of Appeal also agreed with the first-instance assessment that the testimony of one of the appellants, according to which companies were interested in renting the property but left due to the condition of the site, was an auditory testimony, since the persons who had allegedly expressed interest themselves were not called to testify.
Regarding the claim that the property lacks direct access to the avenue, the Court held that, despite the existence of an open groove in the past, there was no isolation strip to cut off the property, while the groove had already been covered before the trial of the case. At the same time, he pointed out that the non-utilization of the property could not be attributed to the Republic, since the owners themselves had withdrawn an application for a planning permit for the development of the plot.
The Court of Appeal also held that allegations of unequal treatment in relation to neighbouring properties could not be considered because they had not been included in the original statement of claim.
In conclusion, the Court ruled that none of the 16 grounds of appeal was well-founded, fully upheld the first-instance decision and definitively dismissed the appellants' claims against the Republic of Cyprus.
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Cy Mail
