Paphos thieves ransack police station
POLICE chief Iacovos Papacostas yesterday ordered an inquiry into the brash heist at police headquarters in Paphos, after thieves came away with confiscated evidence worth some ?55,000.
The incident has been an embarrassment to the force, given the ease with which the burglars compromised security at the facility.
News of the break-in was discovered late on Friday, but it is not yet clear when exactly it took place.
The brazen bandits lifted a total of 27 fruit machines from a lecture room used as a makeshift storage space for police evidence.
Astonishingly, initial news reports said police were “still examining” what was stolen.
The intruders cut through the barbed wire perimeter, making their way unnoticed to the lecture room. They gained entry by smashing the glass window, and proceeded to steal the items at their leisure, by all accounts.
The Paphos headquarters, an outdated building, reportedly has only one guard tower and lacks a CCTV system.
It also emerged that recently a small amount of cash had been stolen from the Petty Crimes Office at the same building. The money belonged to a foreign national who was being detained there.
The latest break-in is being investigated by Paphos CID. By late yesterday afternoon, no police officers had been suspended.
Far from playing down the incident, Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous yesterday called the incident “a travesty” for the force.
“This is very serious…and I feel responsible for the matter,” he said.
Sophocleous pledged that investigators would track down the perpetrators but also those in the police responsible for letting the crime happen.
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