Pafos Live 13 August 2026
A Romanian cleaning worker at a hotel in Paphos was arrested last night by the police after a complaint by the management of the unit and a foreign tourist.
The tenant of the hotel complained that two gold jewellery worth about €1,000 were stolen from her room, while she was absent.
From the investigation of the unit and the police that followed, it was found that this particular maid used a key that opens all the rooms to enter the specific one, which was not among the rooms that she was responsible for cleaning.
The Romanian woman was interrogated and finally admitted her act. He was arrested and today the case is expected to be registered in the Paphos court.
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The Police are investigating a new case of online fraud and theft of a sum of money, through a false advertisement for the offer of loans.
According to a complaint submitted today to the Nicosia Police Department, the complainant spotted an advertisement for the provision of monetary loans, which had been posted on an online social network. After following an electronic link contained in the advertisement and leading to a website, the complainant entered her personal information, such as her name and telephone number.
Subsequently, on July 24, the complainant was contacted by phone, unknown to her, who invited her to transfer a sum of money amounting to €10,000, as a guarantee so that the loan could be granted to her. The suspects sent the complainant a QR code, through which they urged her to complete the money transfer online.
The complainant followed the instructions of the suspects and via the internet, proceeded to transfer the money. However, she then suspected that she had been deceived and filed a complaint with the Police.
The case is being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Unit, of the Nicosia Police Department.
On the occasion of this new fraud complaint, the Police recommends that the public be careful when making transactions via the internet and in particular when carrying out financial transactions with unknown persons or organizations. It is recommended that before any payment of money, a check is carried out to verify the details and reports of the persons or organizations involved.
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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, ten persons were arrested for the offenses of illegal possession of drugs, impersonation, drunkenness, anxiety, non-appearance in Court, etc.
As part of these operations, during the night, 505 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 646 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 three complaints emerged.
During traffic checks carried out, 295 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while ten investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 108 concerned exceeding the speed limit, while as part of the police examinations, eight vehicles were detained. Also, 170 alcohol tests were carried out, from which five complaints emerged, as well as four preliminary drug tests without a positive result.
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The authorities handcuffed another person in connection with the case of arson of a betting agency, committed on June 1 in Germasogeia. This is a 30-year-old Syrian, who was located and arrested this morning, around 9:30, in the area of Ledra, by members of the Ledra Substation, by virtue of a court warrant pending against him.
The 30-year-old is expected to be brought before the Limassol District Court tomorrow, Thursday, where the Police are expected to request his detention for the purpose of investigating the case.
Two 20-year-old Syrians are already in custody for the same case, while a 44-year-old man, who is a convict of the Central Prison, is also accused. The three defendants, two 20-year-olds and the 44-year-old convict, face offenses related to conspiracy to commit a felony, arson and participation in a criminal organization. The case was referred for trial before the Limassol Criminal Court.
According to the data under investigation by the Limassol Police Department, the authorities link the 44-year-old convict and one of the wanted persons with the organization and coordination of criminal actions. The latter is said to be the mastermind of the case.
As we wrote in a previous publication, one of the 20-year-old defendants, during his interrogation, allegedly admitted his participation in the arson of the betting agency and named both the other 20-year-old and the 44-year-old convict as the persons who gave instructions from the Central Prisons.
The fire at the agency, owned by a 40-year-old man, had broken out around 2:50 in the early hours of June 1. The fire destroyed the glass showcase and caused damage to the masonry of the agency. The fire was extinguished by neighbours before spreading to the interior of the premises.
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The Police in Nicosia are investigating a new case of internet fraud, following a complaint by a 32-year-old woman that she was deceived regarding an online accommodation reservation, resulting in the loss of a sum of money over €2.200.
The case was reported yesterday to the Nicosia Police Department by the 32-year-old, according to whom, on August 4, she proceeded to book accommodation through an online booking platform. On the same day, she was contacted by an unknown person, who presented himself as the lessor of the accommodation. On the pretext that he could secure her a lower price of accommodation, he persuaded her to cancel her initial booking and make a new booking through another online travel service platform, sending her a link.
The complainant followed the relevant link and on August 11, she transferred a sum of money in excess of €2,200 to a bank account that was indicated to her, but without receiving any confirmation of the reservation. Then he found out that it was a scam.
The case is being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Team of the TAE Nicosia.
On the occasion of the investigated case, the Police reminds the public to be especially careful when conducting online reservations and not to respond to suspicious messages or payment requests.
In case of receiving a message regarding an accommodation reservation:
Contact the hotel unit or accommodation provider directly, using their official contact details.
Do not make payments through links sent via messages or email without first verifying their authenticity.
In case the link is activated and the bank card details are declared, it is recommended to contact the bank immediately and cancel the card.
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The night for three people in Limassol ended from fun at home to stabbing, with a 44-year-old Iranian ending up injured in the hospital and two men, aged 30 and 37, being arrested. The 37-year-old suspect is the victim's brother, while the causes that led to the bloody episode remain unknown so far, as the two are not cooperating with the authorities.
At the time of the incident, the two suspects were having fun with the 44-year-old at his home. According to the data under investigation, while the 44-year-old was at home, he was attacked by his 37-year-old roommate and the 30-year-old. 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. He was detained for further treatment and was discharged this morning.
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 possession, as a result of which 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, a knife was also found in his possession, which was confiscated, while he was arrested for a flagrante delicto.
The two arrested were subsequently arrested with court warrants and remain in custody for the purpose of investigating the case.
During their interrogation at the offices of the Limassol TAE, the two suspects did not cooperate with the investigators and did not provide information about the circumstances that preceded the attack. Therefore, it remains unknown so far what caused the incident and how the fun between them ended up in a knife position.
The two suspects are expected to be brought before the Limassol District Court today for a request for their detention.
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A man and a woman, aged 26 and 28, from Brazil who were seen lighting fireworks near a forest in Kornos, were referred to a direct trial before the Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca that will meet on October 21, resulting in a fire.
The two Brazilians are charged with serious offenses involving conspiracy to commit a felony, arson in a forest, attempted arson, as well as negligent and reckless acts. Their lawyers objected to the Prosecution's request to remain in custody, which was rejected by the court. So the defendants will remain in custody until their trial.
The case was investigated by the Kofinos Police Station, members of which found that the two had bought sparklers from a kiosk in Kornos. A few meters away from the kiosk, three of them lit up, as a result of which a fire broke out in the grass of a forest area. According to information, the two arrested claimed that they lit up for fun.
It is recalled that the expansion of the fire was prevented by a couple from the area, who saw two people lighting sparklers near the forest at 7 pm on Sunday, August 2. According to their testimony, they got out of the car and observed the two, who entered a car and disappeared. The couple put out the fire and photographed the perpetrators' car, which led to the arrest of the two Brazilians, who live and work in Limassol.
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A fire that broke out shortly after midnight in a car owned by a company, which was parked outside the house of a 62-year-old man in Limassol, seems to be due to malicious action.
Members of the Limassol Police Department and the Fire Service went to the scene.
The fire was extinguished before the arrival of the Fire Brigade by the owner of the vehicle, who used a fire extinguisher.
The fire caused minor damage to the left front tire of the car.
According to preliminary examinations, the fire appears to have been set maliciously.
The scene remains cordoned off, while further examinations are expected to be carried out during the day.
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On 12/8/2026, officials of the Customs Department, as part of the usual checks they carry out for the implementation of the Green Line Regulation at the Deryneia Crossing Point, intercepted a Turkish Cypriot taxi-type vehicle, which was carrying an Israeli passenger to Larnaca Airport.
During the check carried out on the travel luggage of the Israeli passenger, 15 boxes of 200 cigarettes each and 3 packages of hookah tobacco of one kilogram each were found, which did not bear the marking for the harmful of smoking in the Greek and Turkish languages, nor the safety feature and the unique traceability code, indications that they were duty-free.
The tobacco products were confiscated and will follow the prescribed destruction procedure. The person involved was initially arrested for the self-inflicted offenses, while he was later released, after his proposal for an out-of-court settlement of the case was accepted, with the payment of an amount of €2,000.
On the occasion of the above seizure, the Customs Department informs that based on the statistics kept from the seizures at the Crossing Points, an alarming increasing trend has been observed in the last 2 months with involved Israeli nationals who smuggle mainly tobacco products from the occupied areas for the purpose of transporting them to Israel. This fact strengthens the Department's estimates that there may be a specific channel of cigarettes from the occupied territories through the Republic of Cyprus to Israel. After the 2 major seizures that took place during February and November 2025, where the activation of the tobacco transport ring through boats and ships from the coast of Cyprus to the coast of Israel was initially apparent, it seems that the ring turned to the phenomenon of "ant" type smuggling. It is a method of smuggling goods (e.g., cigarettes, drugs, or cash), where smugglers do not carry a large cargo together. Instead, they use many people who carry very small amounts each (like worker ants), making many consecutive routes so as not to arouse suspicion and go under the radar of the authorities.
Specifically:
During the month of June, tobacco seizures at crossing points with Israelis involved were at 14% of the total number (41 out of a total of 288), with 30% of cigarette seizures (22,080 cigarettes out of a total of 72,620)
During the month of July, tobacco seizures at crossing points with Israelis involved were at 24.5% of the total number (46 out of a total of 188), with almost 50% of cigarette seizures (20,980 pieces out of a total of 42,050).
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The BB Customs and Immigration Department confirmed the seizure of 17,500 cigarettes, 21 kilograms of roll-your-own tobacco and 5,500 e-cigarettes since the beginning of July.
The data shows that 115,000 vehicles have used the crossing points since July 1, which has led to the large number of successful seizures by the 50 Customs staff members who carry out checks 24 hours a day.
At the same time, fines of up to 11,000 euros were issued, while two large seizures were located at the Pergamon crossing point.
The first incident occurred on July 4, according to Katerina Christofi, Senior Officer of Customs and Immigration of the Eastern British Bases (ESBA), who said: "This significant seizure involved two passengers travelling in different taxis, which arrived one after the other."
"Customs officials suspected that these people were traveling together, but had chosen different vehicles in an attempt to avoid being detected.
"In the possession of the first passenger, 13.1 kilograms of tobacco for rolled cigarettes were found, while the second was carrying 5.65 kilograms. The total fines imposed reached 6,300 euros."
On August 4, 2,400 cigarettes, 500 grams of roll-your-own tobacco and 600 e-cigarettes were found hidden inside the retractable roof of a convertible vehicle, which led to the imposition of a fine of €1,680.
In statements from her office in Dhekelia, K. Christofi added: "Customs staff are on the front line on a 24-hour basis at both crossing points, to detect illegal goods and impose severe fines on violators.
"Due to the increased traffic during the peak summer season, it is necessary for our staff to remain vigilant to follow the regulations, and any illegality will be dealt with without any tolerance."
