Teen arrested after abandoning car on highway last month

An 18-year-old wanted by police for almost two weeks after fleeing from officers was arrested after he was found next to a stolen vehicle, police said on Thursday.

On October 28, officers patrolling the Mesogis-Paphos road noticed a suspicious driver. After signaling for him to stop, the driver appeared to start taking different routes to avoid officers, eventually reaching the Paphos-Limassol highway, near the Timi weighing station.

The driver then left his car on the highway and fled.

After searching the vehicle, officers found five boxes containing petrol and a number of break-in tools, including gloves and a hood.

Police confiscated the vehicle and found the registered owner was the 18-year-old, and an arrest warrant was issued for him.

On Wednesday, police found him at around 1:30pm next to a vehicle which had been stolen earlier in the day. He was arrested on the spot and detained.

Under questioning, he admitted to stealing the vehicle, found in Limassol. He claimed he stole it from Astromeritis because he wanted to drive to Paphos.