Arrest warrant issued for escapee (Update 2)

Police on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a 35-year-old man who earlier in the day escaped from lawful detention while being driven in a vehicle in Nicosia.

Authorities identified the escapee as Raja Frangiskou, and published his photograph asking the public for assistance in locating him. Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call Nicosia CID at 22802222, the citizens’ hotline at 1460, or contact their nearest police station.

According to the police, the 35-year-old was following a rehabilitation treatment programme. He had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drugs offences in the past, but the sentence was suspended on entering the rehab centre at Ayia Skepi.

At around 11am on Thursday, and while boarding a private vehicle belonging to the rehab centre, Frangiskou bolted when the car came to a stop on the Kalisperas traffic lights at the entrance to Nicosia.

As such, police said, he has violated the terms of his lawful detention.

In a statement of its own, the Ayia Skepi centre said the man had joined the facility four months ago. He recently asked to be returned to the central prisons to serve out the remainder of his sentence. He escaped during the transfer.