Pafos Live 12 August 2026
A bomb explosion occurred around 3.15 in the morning in a semi-truck in Paphos. The vehicle owned by a 56-year-old man was parked in an open area next to his residence in the city of Paphos.
The vehicle belongs to a business owner who was the target of a bomb on May 28, 2026. The explosion had caused significant damage to both his store and neighbouring stores.
From the examinations carried out today, it was found that the explosion was caused by an improvised low-power explosive object. However, extensive damage was caused to the car, as well as damage to a second vehicle, which was parked nearby.
The owner of the business and the vehicle was called again to testify. It is recalled that in the first case he had stated that he had no serious differences with anyone and could not give any direction to the police investigations.
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The Police arrested two persons, aged 30 and 37, as part of an investigation into a case of assault and injury to a 44-year-old man, which was committed yesterday shortly before midnight in Limassol.
According to the data under investigation, while a 44-year-old man was at home, he was attacked by his 37-year-old roommate and a second 30-year-old person. During the attack, the 37-year-old allegedly injured the 44-year-old with a knife.The injured man was transported by ambulance to the Limassol General Hospital, where he was found to have bruised head and cervical spine, as well as a nose injury and was detained for further treatment.
After evaluating information, members of the Police located the 30-year-old driving his vehicle in the area of Limassol. During the check that followed, a knife was found in his vehicle and he was arrested for the self-inflicted crime of carrying a knife.
A little later, the 37-year-old was also located in an area of the Limassol district. During the inspection carried out, a knife was also found in his possession, which was confiscated and he was arrested for a flagrante delicto.
The two arrested were taken into custody for the purpose of investigating the case, while today they are expected to appear before a Court for the issuance of a detention order.
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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 police operations, 17 persons were arrested for various offenses, such as illegal stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, carrying knives, illegal possession of burglary tools, illegal possession of property, drunkenness, causing concern, illegal possession of drugs, illegal possession of an offensive instrument, assault on a police officer, etc.
As part of these operations, during the night, 643 drivers and 184 passengers were stopped and checked. At the same time, 37 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, where four complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 320 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while 11 investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 133 driver complaints for exceeding the speed limit stand out, while as part of the police examinations, 9 vehicles were detained.
89 alcohol tests were carried out, from which four complaints emerged, while two cases of driving under the influence of drugs also emerged, after preliminary drug tests.
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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A 26-year-old woman in Paphos was the victim of electronic fraud, who lost an amount of more than €4.800 after following a link to a fake message that appeared to have been sent by GOVCY and concerned an allegedly pending fine.
According to the Police, the 26-year-old complained today to the Paphos Police Department that the day before she received a message on her mobile phone, in which GOVCY falsely appeared as the sender.
The message stated that a fine was pending against her and included a link to its alleged payment.T
The 26-year-old followed the link and entered her bank card details. She then found that an amount in excess of €4,800 had been withdrawn from her bank account.
The case is being investigated by the Paphos Police Department.
The Police warns that these messages are fake and have nothing to do with the Cyprus Police.
At the same time, it calls on the public not to open links sent via SMS, email or chat applications from unknown or suspicious senders and not to register personal or banking information on suspicious websites.
To confirm any pending issue with the Police, citizens are urged to contact only through its official communication channels.
From the motorcycle driven by the perpetrator of the shooting to the vehicle of the 36-year-old suspect, dozens of closed surveillance circuits seem to have unravelled the tangle of criminal activity with the firing of shots at the liquor store of a 40-year-old Russian businessman, committed in the early hours of March 31 in Germasogeia.
The course of the two vehicles was recorded minute by minute, with investigators following their tracks on dozens of cameras, until the identification of the car and finally the securing of arrest warrants against two persons, who were detained today for eight days.
In addition to the closed circuits, information received at the beginning of June and put two persons under the microscope of the authorities also seems to have played an important role in the investigations, with one being indicated as the one who shot at the premises.
As Filenews is informed, on June 3, information was received by the Police, according to which the 20-year-old Greek Cypriot is the person who shot at the premises, as well as the owner of the motorcycle, in white, in which the perpetrator of the shooting was riding. According to the same information, the young suspect allegedly obtained the weapon used by the 36-year-old suspect.
Arrest warrants were obtained against the two persons and they have been wanted ever since. On August 11, a coordinated operation was carried out by members of the TAE and the OPE, during which the two suspects were located and arrested. In a search of the suspects, their mobile phones were located and received as evidence, while, with the written consent of the 20-year-old, his vehicle was searched, in which a pair of gloves was found as evidence.
When interrogated, both suspects denied any involvement in the commission of the offenses. Today (11/8) they were brought before the Limassol Court, which ordered their detention for a period of eight days. The offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony, illegal possession and transport of a firearm, illegal possession and transport of explosives, firing shots and possession of a firearm are being investigated against them. Another person is also being sought, while another 40 statements are expected to be taken
How they were burned by closed surveillance circuits
From the examinations carried out and the inspection of closed circuit surveillance, it was found that around 4 am on March 31, 2026, a motorcycle approached the premises and then wandered for a few minutes in the area, in front of the premises.
The motorcycle was then parked in front of the entrance of the premises and while the perpetrator was stopped on the motorcycle, he fired several times towards the premises and then departed in an easterly direction.
The examinations to identify the perpetrators continued for some time, as the investigators followed the course of the motorcycle through the closed surveillance circuits.
From the examination of the cameras, it was found that, after the shooting, the motorcycle followed a specific course, which was recorded by dozens of closed surveillance circuits.
A few minutes after the shooting, the motorcycle headed north, towards Agios Athanasios and the cemetery of Sfalagiotissa, where it stopped on the side of the road. Another Mercedes vehicle was parked at this point. From the inspection of the closed monitoring circuits that covered the specific point, it was found that the Mercedes had parked there a few minutes earlier. A minute before the arrival of the motorcycle, the passenger of the vehicle got out of the car and stood in front of it, on the side of the road, waiting for the motorcycle.
The motorcycle arrived at the scene and the two persons remained there for a while. Then they left in a northerly direction. Subsequently, tests were carried out in order to determine the course followed by the motorcycle before arriving at the scene, as well as the course followed by the Mercedes until it reached the point where it met the perpetrator after the shooting.
An inspection of dozens of CCTV found that both the motorcycle on which the shooter was riding and the Mercedes appear to have gone to a specific road, where they met, before the motorcycle headed towards the scene of the shooting.
Furthermore, tests were carried out to identify the details of the Mercedes, as well as the driver, but also for the course followed by the vehicle after the shooting.
The course of the vehicle was followed through the closed surveillance circuits to Kato Polemidia. From the Police examinations, it was found that the registration number of the vehicle corresponds to a vehicle owned by the 36-year-old suspect.
It should be noted that, from the inspection of closed circuit surveillance in premises near the house where the 36-year-old lives, it was found that, around 4:30 in the morning of March 31, i.e. about 20 minutes after the shooting, the Mercedes parked in an open area opposite a specific café and the driver went to the café, which is located near his place of residence.
This is the fourth attack against this 40-year-old Russian businessman, with the first recorded in November 2025 and the most recent involving the firing of shots at his liquor store, on March 31, 2026.
Specifically, the attacks began on November 26, 2025, with the arson of his luxury vehicles in Mouttagiaka. This was followed, on December 18, 2025, by the arson of the same wine cellar in Germasogeia. On March 24, 2026, unknown persons placed an explosive object outside a fast food restaurant he maintains in the area of the old port, while on March 31, 2026, shots were fired at the liquor store.
From the examinations of the Criminal Investigation Service of the Police Headquarters, it was found that in the last attack, about 16 shots were fired at the premises of the Russian businessman.
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Members of OPE Larnaca located around 1.45 in the morning today, August 12, 2026, in Larnaca, a 34-year-old man from Syria moving suspiciously on a bicycle.
The 34-year-old was stopped and in a subsequent search of a backpack in his possession, a number of burglary tools were found, as well as a number of silver-plated items and other items, which are reasonably believed to have been illegally possessed.
The 34-year-old was arrested for the offenses of illegal possession of property and possession of burglary tools.
Within the day, he is expected to be brought before a Court, where a detention order will be requested.
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More than three years after his conviction, the 69-year-old who had been sentenced by the Permanent Criminal Court of Limassol to eight years in prison for the great deadly fire of July 3, 2021 in mountainous Limassol which started from Arakapas was acquitted yesterday Tuesday.
The Cyprus Court of Appeal unanimously annulled the convictions related to the deadly fire, ruling that the guilt of the accused was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision was issued on August 11, 2026 by a three-member Court of Appeal, which emphasized that the decision is unanimous.
The case concerned his conviction for causing the great fire of July 3, 2021 and for lighting a fire in the countryside without permission on the same day. The Limassol Criminal Court had imposed concurrent prison sentences of eight years and one year respectively, judging that he was the person who set the fire which spread uncontrollably in the area.
The fire developed into one of the most destructive in the modern history of Cyprus. Within a few hours, it spread to at least ten communities, including Odou, Akapnou, Eptagonia and Dierona, burning a total of 44.49 square kilometers of land.
The flames not only caused incalculable damage to burnt earth and property, but also cost human lives, as on July 4, 2021, the charred bodies of four Egyptian workers trapped by the fire were found in the area of Odos.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal notes that there was no direct testimony linking the accused to the start of the fire and that the case was based solely on factual testimony. The evidence that had been put before the Criminal Court concerned, among other things, his presence in his orchard before the fire broke out, his ability to access the place where the outbreak was located, the finding of two lighters in his vehicle and certain aspects of his behaviour after the fire broke out.
The Court of Appeal held that the specific data could only give rise to suspicions or the likelihood of involvement and not the level of certainty required in a criminal case. As stated in the decision, the findings showed that the accused was in the area shortly before the fire, had lighters and his subsequent behavior raised questions, but this evidence was not enough to support with moral certainty the conclusion that he was the one who started the fire.
Particular reference is made to the expert's testimony, according to which the fire was "in all likelihood" set with a naked flame. The Court of Appeal ruled that this finding remained a possibility and not a certainty, noting that the conviction could not be based on speculation or speculation.
In conclusion, the Court characterized the first-instance conviction as unsafe and decided to annul the convictions for causing the great fire and for lighting a fire in the countryside without permission on July 3, 2021. The accused was acquitted and completely acquitted of these two charges.
At the same time, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction for a separate case involving previous burning of grass in the countryside without a permit, on an unknown date between April and July 2021. He also retained the six-month prison sentence imposed for this offence.
Therefore, the final result of the appeal is full acquittal for the offenses associated with the deadly Arakapas fire and only the conviction for the separate offense of illegally lighting a fire in the countryside is maintained.
