Pafos Press 11/11
LIMASSOL: Murder plot linked to financial disputes – Three arrests
As part of its intensified and targeted efforts against organized crime, the Cyprus Police conducted a large-scale operation today, November 10, 2026, codenamed "AEGIS." The operation resulted in the arrest of three individuals and the prevention of a serious criminal act.
The operation was planned and executed by the Organized Crime Combating Department (OCCD), following the assessment and utilization of intelligence and operational data gathered during the investigation of a major organized crime case. During the operation, three individuals—aged 36, 48, and 70—were arrested and are being held in custody to facilitate the investigation into a case involving the following offenses:
Conspiracy to commit murder
Conspiracy to commit a felony
Illegal possession/transport of explosives
Participation in a criminal organization
Money laundering
Entry into the Republic via a prohibited port
Prohibited immigrant
The investigation is ongoing, conducted by the DAOE.
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PAPHOS: €10,000 fine imposed by the Cyprus Bar Association’s Disciplinary Council on a lawyer for a sexist comment directed at a schoolgirl in 2021 - “She came to sing wearing her thong…” – €10,000 fine for a lawyer over a sexist remark about a schoolgirl
In September 2021, a lawyer posted a comment on social media criticizing a schoolgirl who had participated in an event, writing that “…she came to sing wearing her thong under her white dress.” Five years later, the Disciplinary Council of the Cyprus Bar Association found him guilty of making a sexist comment and imposed a fine of €10,000. His complete lack of remorse was taken into account when determining the penalty. The lawyer in question claimed that he was “telling the truth,” invoking freedom of expression, as reported in an article today by the online edition of the newspaper *“O Politis.”* The Disciplinary Council of the Cyprus Bar Association has imposed a fine of €10,000 on a lawyer, ruling that his conduct was incompatible with the legal profession.
The case concerned a social media comment directed at a female student, which, according to the decision, contained sexist content. Although the lawyer deleted the post in question one to three days after its publication—following the backlash it provoked—he showed no remorse for his conduct before the Disciplinary Council. On the contrary, he maintained that what he had written reflected reality, invoking the right to freedom of expression, according to the report.
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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, eight persons were arrested for various offenses, including conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, causing malicious damage, theft of a car, illegal possession of property, pending fine warrants.
As part of these operations, during the night, 449 drivers and 122 passengers were stopped and checked. At the same time, 21 inspections of premises were carried out, with the aim of dealing with phenomena of delinquency, where a complaint arose.
During traffic checks carried out, 271 complaints were made, concerning various traffic violations, while eight investigated cases of traffic violations also emerged.
Of the complaints made, 74 concerned exceeding the speed limit, while as part of the police examinations, seven vehicles were detained.
126 alcohol tests were carried out, which resulted in 11 complaints.
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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As everything shows, the nine now accused for the much-praised case of 233,5 kilograms of drugs found last February in Strovolos are being taken to the Permanent Criminal Court of Nicosia. Today, the Police proceeded with the registration of a criminal case against the four persons arrested last week, as part of the pan-Cypriot operation "Plexma" of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.
The four, who are allegedly linked to the trafficking of large quantities of drugs through the so-called "storekeeper" who is on trial in the Central Prison, were referred to a direct trial before the Nicosia Criminal Court, with their first appearance set for January 28, 2027.
In today's proceedings, at the end of the five-day detention order, the prosecution submitted a request for them to remain in custody as awaiting trial until the trial of the case. The Court reserved its decision for tomorrow, November 11.
The new registration also paves the way for a possible consolidation of the two criminal cases, so that the four will be on the same indictment as the five already on trial, who were arrested as part of the investigations that began last February, after the discovery of the 233,5 kilograms of drugs.
From the mobile phone of the "storekeeper" to four
It is recalled that the four were arrested on November 5, as part of the "Grid" operation, after a months-long investigation of the communication data found on the mobile phones of the five original defendants.
According to the YKAN investigator, a decisive role in the development of the investigations was played by the analysis of the contents of the mobile phone of the first defendant, who was attributed the role of the "storekeeper/manager" of the quantities of drugs stored in two warehouses in his father's house, in Strovolos.
According to the investigator, he allegedly received instructions from persons who owned the drugs, both for their trafficking and for the management of the money from sales.
During the examination of the communication data, according to the investigator, communications with the four were found for the storage, transport and delivery of drugs, as well as for the collection of sums of money.
According to the investigator, the offenses investigated against them, as reported during the detention process, concerned, among other things, illegal supply and possession of class A and B drugs, possession for the purpose of supplying to other persons, conspiracy to commit a felony, participation in a criminal organization and money laundering.
A joint indictment for nine is on the table
Today's registration also creates new data for the pending case of the five defendants, who are already before the Criminal Court and on November 6 denied guilt in all 30 charges attributed to them.
Although this process has progressed to the stage of responding to the indictment, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the existing criminal prosecutions are expected to be suspended and a new, single indictment will be registered, which will now include all nine persons.
In practice, this means that, instead of trying two cases linked to the same events separately, it will be sought to register a joint criminal case, which will include both the five original defendants and the four indicted today.
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A new episode of fighting unfolded in the Central Prison, the second within 48 hours, resulting in the injury of a long-term convict, who was taken to the hospital with a fractured arm.
According to information, the new episode unfolded today in a wing of the Central Prison, with long-term convicts involved.
Based on the same information, one of the people involved allegedly beat another prisoner a few days ago, while in the past he allegedly attacked a prison guard.
The new incident is added to the incident that happened in the women's wing of the Central Prison at noon on Sunday.
It is noted that the new director of the Central Prison, Giorgos Ioannou, has been informed about the incident, with the incident being under investigation, while measures are expected.
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The Paphos District Court issued an eight-day detention order for the 42-year-old cohabitant and her 20-year-old son, regarding the murder of the 51-year-old man in Pegeia.
A 35-year-old permanent resident of Cyprus was also arrested for the case on Tuesday afternoon, by virtue of a court warrant. It is recalled that the Police spokesman told the court that the woman in question was wanted to facilitate investigations.
This is the young girlfriend of the 20-year-old, who, based on the tests, seems to have been the driver of the vehicle when mother and son put the injured 51-year-old in the car to take him to the Hospital. According to the spokesman, the possibility that the girl in question panicked when she realized the seriousness of the injured person's condition and abandoned the vehicle at the place where she was located is being examined, while it is being examined which of the two women made the call to the Ambulance Service.
According to what was heard in court and based on what the two suspects said in their testimonies, the victim often had outbursts of bad behaviour due to cocaine use, as they claimed. Something like this, they claimed, happened on the fateful afternoon, while scenes of jealousy towards his 42-year-old partner were also frequent. On Monday afternoon, he demonstrated, according to their testimonies, the same behavior brandishing a knife, as a result of which the 20-year-old son of the 42-year-old intervened and in the fight that followed injured him in the abdomen.
It is noted, however, that mother and son have so far carefully avoided, according to the Police, to involve a third person in any way in the events of Monday night.
According to the Police spokesman, upon the arrival of the members of the force at the house where the three persons lived, they found blood stains, while the house was visibly just mopped.
Five statements have been taken so far, he said, while another 50 statements are expected to be taken from the victim's family, work and social environment.
The spokesman stressed that because the case is at the initial stage, while another person is being sought, it is considered possible that there will be a distortion of evidence, which is why the Police are requesting their eight-day detention, a request that the court satisfied.
The 20-year-old indicated a location in Akamas where he threw the knife
Meanwhile, in search of the knife with which the murder of the 51-year-old Briton was committed in Pegeia last night, the Police are rushing. After the testimony of the confessed perpetrator in a voluntary statement he gave to the Police, he stated that he threw the knife after committing the murder in the "Kakoskali" location of Akamas.
The 20-year-old son of the victim's 42-year-old partner will lead members of the Police to the peninsula for a while and will indicate to the examiners of the case the place where, as he claims, he threw the lethal instrument. The 20-year-old suspect consented to lead the police to the scene.
In the meantime, as reported to the Paphos District Court by the examiner of the case, the first name of the girlfriend of the confessed perpetrator who is still being sought is Stephanie and comes from Scotland.
What the autopsy showed for the 51-year-old
The death of the 51-year-old Briton in Pegeia is due to haemorrhagic shock, as a result of massive internal bleeding from an aortic injury caused by a cutting and insular instrument.
This was the conclusion of the autopsy carried out in the morgue of the Nicosia General Hospital by the medical examiner Nicolas Charalambous.
During the autopsy, various evidence was taken for toxicological and other scientific examinations.
Update - The Paphos District Court issued a seven-day detention order against the 35-year-old girlfriend of the 20-year-old, who allegedly admitted to stabbing the 51-year-old Briton in Pegeia, resulting in his death.
The 35-year-old appeared before the Paphos Court today, with the Police requesting her seven-day detention to facilitate investigations, a request which was approved.
According to the evidence under investigation, the woman had been called by the 20-year-old son of the victim's partner to take the 51-year-old to Paphos General Hospital, while he was bleeding after being injured with a knife.
However, on the way, the 35-year-old reportedly panicked and abandoned the vehicle a short distance from the residence where the bloody incident took place.
The 51-year-old Briton remained in the car, in the passenger seat, where he was later spotted by passing citizens.
The 35-year-old was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, pursuant to a court warrant, as she was wanted by the Police to facilitate investigations.
Police investigations continue to clarify all the circumstances of the case.
Update 2 - The Paphos District Court issued a seven-day detention order today for the 35-year-old British woman, a friend of the 20-year-old, who according to the Police played an auxiliary role in the crime.
The most important element that emerges from the ongoing examinations concerns the version of the 35-year-old which differs in a vital fact for the case. In particular, as reported by the Police representative today in court, the 35-year-old after her arrest testified that the victim and his partner's 20-year-old son were each holding a knife at the time of the incident. She also claimed that she and her 20-year-old boyfriend went to the Akamas area and threw the two knives.
This fact contradicts what the 20-year-old and his 42-year-old mother testified, who in their testimonies had claimed that the knife was carried by the 51-year-old and with it he initially tried to hit the 20-year-old, before the latter hit him in self-defense.
The Paphos District Court finally issued a seven-day detention order for the 35-year-old, who according to the authorities is said to be the person who, after the fatal injury of the victim inside his home in Pegeia, undertook his transport to Paphos Hospital by car. However, a few meters from the house, she allegedly abandoned the vehicle and the 51-year-old inside it and disappeared from the scene. According to the Police spokesman during today's court proceedings, the 35-year-old admitted this fact under interrogation, stating that she notified the Ambulance Service and remained at the scene until it was confirmed that the ambulance was approaching the area.
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There is no end to the incidents of juvenile delinquency, with the beatings of minors having increased recently. The Police released on Wednesday morning the photos of five young people, some of whom are estimated to be minors, stating that they were involved in a beating and facial injury. According to information from filenews, the suspects allegedly brutally beat a 15-year-old, who suffered a facial fracture.
The offenses were committed on October 10 in a multi-storey parking lot, located in the commercial center of Larnaca. According to the 15-year-old's complaint, a group of unknown persons beat him on a floor of the parking lot. The young man had been taken to the hospital and was found to have a fractured face. The investigation of the case was initially undertaken by the Minor Offenses Department, however, it was then given to the Larnaca Police Department. According to information, the 15-year-old claimed that a group of people beat him for no reason.
The Police found testimony from closed circuits about the young people involved and published photos of them. In a statement, it states that the persons pictured are wanted to facilitate investigations into an investigated case concerning the offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony, acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, causing grievous bodily harm, injury and other related offenses, which were committed on October 10, 2026, in Larnaca.
An appeal is also made "to anyone who knows anything that can help locate or identify them, to contact the TAE Larnaca at 24804060 phone number or the nearest Police Station, or the Citizen's Line at the telephone number 1460".
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The allegations recorded in a court decision in a case starring two parents, who are accused, among other things, of sexually abusing their minor son, are shocking. According to what the child allegedly told the investigators, his parents urged him not to talk to the Police, while promising him gifts to retract his complaints. The Court of Appeal ordered their detention due to the risk of influencing the child's testimony.
In a unanimous decision, dated November 10, 2026, the Court of Appeal accepted the two appeals of the Attorney General and set aside the decision of the Larnaca Criminal Court, which had rejected the Prosecution's request to continue the detention of the two defendants.
According to the decision, the two parents face, among other things, charges of sexual abuse of a child, causing mental harm to a family member, interfering in a court proceeding, harassment of a victim of violence and joint assault, in violation of the Family Violence Law.
Central to the decision of the Court of Appeal were the reports that the two parents visited the child daily at his school and talked to him, despite the existence of an exclusion decree that strictly regulated their communication.
This decree allowed parents to meet the child for one hour a week, at a time and place that would be determined by an officer of the Social Welfare Services, who should be present throughout the meeting.
However, the Court of Appeal held that the existence of the decree did not eliminate the risk of influencing the minor, since, according to the witness material, the parents had daily access to it in a way that is not consistent with the terms of the decree.
Particular importance was given to the child's testimonies to specially trained police investigators. As stated in the decision, during his videotaped testimony, the minor refused to go into more detail about the incidents of violence and his possible sexual abuse, stating that on the same day, before leaving school, his parents urged him not to report anything to the Police.
In a later testimony, on February 13, 2026, the minor also reportedly mentioned that his parents, and especially his father, promised him various gifts if he retracted what he had complained about being beaten by his father. According to the child's report, the gifts would be given to him when he returned to their home.
The Court of Appeal disagreed with the approach of the Criminal Court, which had considered that the exclusion decree was an adequate mechanism for the protection of the minor and that the daily visits to the school concerned a different criminal investigation.
As underlined in the decision, the fact that there was no evidence of new, explicit attempts to influence the child during the recent meetings did not negate the risk. The Court held that the previous attempt to influence, combined with the parents' continued access to the child and the totality of the circumstances, created a reasonable likelihood of influencing his testimony.
The Court of Appeal also considered the fact that the mother is pregnant, pointing out that the special statutory protection provided for suspected mothers does not apply in this particular case, as the indictment includes offences under domestic violence legislation, which fall under the exceptions of the relevant law.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal annulled the previous conditions for ensuring the presence of the two defendants, ordered their detention until November 12, 2026, when the hearing of the case before the Larnaca Criminal Court will continue, while also annulling the provision of the exclusion order that allowed their communication with the minor.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal recalled, finally, that the courts must evaluate all the evidence when examining detention requests, in order to ensure the unhindered administration of justice and to protect the testimony until the conclusion of the judicial process.
The two defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
