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Briton held for Cyprus land ad


NICOSIA (AFP) - A Briton living in the south of Cyprus has been arrested and charged with involvement in the illegal sale of Greek-Cypriot property in the island’s Turkish-occupied north, Cypriot police said on Saturday.

Police declined to name the accused, who lives near near the western coastal resort of Paphos, a popular retirement location for Britons. It is thought to be the first case of its kind involving a foreign national. The suspect was charged with illegally advertising on the Internet the properties of Greek Cypriots displaced by Turkey’s 1974 invasion. Documents and computer evidence found in his home were confiscated.

Authorities also issued warrants for the arrest of the two other Britons who own the real estate firm.

“We had been following him for a year,” Paphos Police Chief Michalis Papageorgiou told reporters. “He was illegally advertising the sale of property in the north.”

Last week, a British couple living in the north lost an appeal against a Cyprus court decision to demolish their retirement home as it was illegally built on Greek-Cypriot property.