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One of two men who escaped from police detention arrested (updated)

Paphos police HQ

One of the two men who had escaped from Paphos police station earlier in February was arrested on Saturday after he had broke into an apartment in the Universal area of Paphos and fallen asleep.

Wanted man Alexandros Sarkisides, 28, was found inside an apartment in Kato Paphos which he allegedly attempted to steal from, assistant to the Paphos police chief Michalis Ioannou told the Cyprus News Agency on Saturday.

He reportedly broke into the apartment and then lay down on the bed where he was seen asleep by someone who thought he looked like one of the escapees, Ioannou said.

This person called the police, and also told them the main door of the apartment had been broken in, who went to the seen, where they found Sarkisides asleep.

He was immediately arrested and transferred to Paphos police station under guard where all appropriate measures would be taken for his detention, Ioannou said.

The second wanted man, Ernai Kozmiov, aged 34, is still at large.

Sarkisides was also seen on Thursday in the district in a car with a 27-year-old who was later arrested. At that time police had failed to arrest the escapee.

The 27-year-old man was remanded for five days on Friday for alleged complicity in the escape of the two detainees. He was arrested on Thursday after police spotted him with the suspect at around 7pm.

Police signalled the driver to stop but he instead increased speed, leading to a car chase with the officers who eventually lost him.

Later in the day, officers identified the car parked in an area in the district. The two passengers were not there, but further investigations revealed the owner of the vehicle and an arrest warrant was issued against him.

After the escape of the two detainees on February 5, a female officer was suspended following a decision of the police chief, PafosNet reported.

It said suspicions against the officer arose when the investigators checked the CCTV cameras of the detention facilities covering the period when the escape took place.

The material, according to the Paphos-based media, allegedly showed the officer had engaged to disciplinary misconduct.

The two escapees faced a total of 40 charges related to burglaries and thefts, police had said.

State radio had reported that one of the two had refused to carry out a PCR test for coronavirus, which was required before his transfer to the central prisons, and that is why he was being detained at the central police station of Paphos.

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