Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-11-12

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

CONTENTS

[01] Man held as drug-dealing suspect

[02] Man admits to killing mechanic five years ago

[03] Turkish Cypriot jailed for importing heroin

[04] Court remands ten 'illegal immigrants'

[05] Kyprianou warns of 'negative elements' in UN resolution

[06] Buffer zone ceremony to mark Poppy Day

[07] Police search for man after road rage death

[01] Man held as drug-dealing suspect

A man police named only as H.S. escaped capture earlier in the day after an undercover policeman to whom he had allegedly tried to sell drugs revealed his true identity and tried to arrest him. The suspect left behind 28.5 grams of a substance believed to be cannabis and £40.

A warrant was issued for police to search his home, where another 1.5 grams of the substance was found along with two grams of a white powder, a small scale and £660. Drugs squad officers staking out the home later saw the suspect put a red canvas bag found to be carrying 77 grams of a substance also believed to be cannabis resin against an outside wall.

The suspect was then arrested. Meanwhile Larnaca District Court yesterday remanded a 28-year-old man for eight days on suspicion of drug trafficking. Investigating officer Andreas Vryonis told the court that George Christophides, also known as 'Snake', had been found with 43 Ecstasy tablets and told police he had been selling for a third person he refused to name.

Christophides was arrested late on Friday night after a tip-off that he had been selling large quantities of the tablets. He was allegedly found carrying 43 tablets, and told police he had already sold seven for £112. Vryonis said the suspect told police he was a drug addict and that the person he was selling the drugs for had also given him two for himself, which he had already used. He would not name his supplier, telling police he was a dangerous person, and also refused to identify the people he had sold the drugs to.

[02] Man admits to killing mechanic five years ago

Police arrested him when the army-issue G3 rifle used to kill Nicolaou, a car mechanic, was found in Michael's possession yesterday. Michael had been previously arrested by CID for failing to return the weapon to the National Guard. After they examined it, the police concluded it was the same one which killed Nicolaou, they told the Court. "I admit everything," Michael told the court.

Michael did not have a lawyer and refused to say why he was now confessing to the murder. Nicolaou was cut down in a hail of bullets at the garage where he worked. He was hit by at least eight bullets and died instantly. He was 30 and a father of two. It is still not known whether one or more gunmen where involved in the shooting, but according to police information yesterday, two more people are suspected of having been involved, one of whom died recently. The police say they plan to question more people in connection with the case.

[03] Turkish Cypriot jailed for importing heroin

A TURKISH Cypriot man living in London has been jailed for 13 years for his involvement in a £4.8 million heroin ring. Mohammed Sati, a 23-year-old student living in Islington, was found guilty of importing 50 kilos of heroin to London from the occupied areas.

Old Bailey Judge Martin Stephens heard that Sati had played a significant part in the plot. The heroin was found in Sati's flat in north London after a baby's cot containing the drugs was sent to him from the occupied north of Cyprus.

Some of the drug is believed to have arrived in two teddy bear pillows in the cot. Sir Ivan Lawrence, defending, said Sati had played no other part than to allow his home to be used for drug deals. He said the student was "perfect fodder for an unscrupulous gang because he was young and inexperienced in life".

[04] Court remands ten 'illegal immigrants'

EIGHT Iraqis and two Syrians were yesterday remanded for six days on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. Investigating officer Stelios Stylianou told Famagusta District Court that Paralimni police had spotted the ten men acting suspiciously in Protaras late on Friday night and taken them in for questioning.

Stylianou said the ten told police that they had just disembarked from a fishing boat that had brought them to Cyprus from Syria. The number of illegal immigrants entering Cyprus has increased dramatically over the past few months, and police have increased coastal patrols. The government also plans to buy advanced radar equipment capable of detecting small boats suspected of carrying illegal immigrants.

[05] Kyprianou warns of 'negative elements' in UN resolution

Speaking at Larnaca Airport before leaving for a series of meetings in Athens yesterday, Kyprianou said that whatever the outcome of the customary December resolution, the 'non-paper' submitted to the two sides by UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan in Geneva contained some positive references.

During his week-long visit, Kyprianou will meet Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, and party leaders to express his views and concerns on the Cyprus problem and the EU accession courses of both Cyprus and Turkey.

Kyprianou said he might also be meeting President Glafcos Clerides, who will be in the Greek capital for official visits until Tuesday, to discuss the round of proximity talks which ended in Geneva on Friday. Clerides arrived in Athens yesterday afternoon on his way back from the talks, which are set to resume in late January.

Referring to Turkey's partnership agreement with the European Union, Kyprianou said that Ankara should be forced to make specific commitments on the Cyprus problem before it was promoted in status. He also said Cyprus' EU accession course was going well, but added that he was concerned some counties would create obstacles if the Cyprus problem was not solved by the time accession was imminent, even though a solution was not a precondition to accession.

[06] Buffer zone ceremony to mark Poppy Day

THE British Bases and UN's British Contingent in Cyprus will today remember the fallen of the past century's two world wars in the first such commemoration of the new millennium. Major Niall Greenwood of UNFICYP told the Sunday Mail: "There will be a ceremony at Wayne's Keep cemetery near the former Nicosia Grammar School in the buffer zone.

It is a very solemn affair and there will not be shots fired or anything like that." "We will be having a band from the Sovereign Bases to honour all the fallen members of the Commonwealth, and the traditional religious service."

Up to 300 people are expected to attend, including foreign diplomats and government dignitaries. Episkopi Base will hold its service of remembrance at the Curium Amphitheatre. British expatriates and holiday-makers have been invited to attend and should be seated by 10.40am.

In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place at St John's School theatre at the Base. A British Bases spokesman said yesterday there would also be closed ceremonies at the Dhekelia and Akrotiri Bases, with former servicemen and members of the Cyprus regiment in World War II taking part.

There will be two minutes' silence at exactly 11am during all of the ceremonies. The Cyprus Veterans' Association of World War II on Friday staged an event outside the PASYDY building at the Monument of the Fallen to commemorate Remembrance Day, or Poppy Day, as it is also known.

The event was marked by a minute's silence in honour of the dead, and was attended by the Archbishop, the Speaker of the House and party representatives. The association also organised a Poppy Day fund-raiser.

Some 70 million people lost their lives in the devastation and battles of the two world wars. The origins of Poppy Day date back to World War I, when a Canadian colonel serving on the western front composed a poem, using as his inspiration the sight of poppies on French fields.

Mona Michael, an American woman working in a canteen during the war, later read the poem, which gave her the idea of wearing a red poppy to commemorate the dead.

[07] Police search for man after road rage death

POLICE are looking for a Larnaca resident after the death of a victim of a September road-rage incident in which he was involved. Married father of two Spyros Kalogyros, 37, died early yesterday after being in a critical condition and on a respirator since the September 21 attack.

Alleged assailant 28-year-old George Michael was remanded for five days after the incident but was later released temporarily. Larnaca police said yesterday that when Michael is found he will be charged with murder, and said he had admitted to police after the accident that he punched Kalogyros.

The incident happened when the two men's cars collided on the road to Livadhia village near Larnaca, and Kalogyros was reported to have driven away from the scene. Michael chased him and eventually cut him off. Police say the ensuing argument came to an abrupt end when Michael punched Kalogyros in the face, knocking him to ground where he hit his head.

Realising what had happened, Michael called an ambulance, which rushed an unconscious Kalogyros to Larnaca general hospital. There he was diagnosed with cranial damage and put on a respirator. He later underwent a CAT scan, which showed cerebral haemorrhaging, and he also underwent surgery but his condition remained unchanged.

Cyprus Mail 2000

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