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Chlorakas kiosk robbed twice in two days, arrests for earlier attack (updated)

file phot
File photo

It’s Groundhog Day in Chlorakas as a kiosk was robbed again on Friday morning in the same way it had been hit just two days ago.

It appears that the same robber and same member of staff – aged 50 – were again face to face in the early hours.

The series of armed robberies of such businesses in Paphos prompted district police spokesman Michalis Nicolaou to issue an alert calling on the businesses to take extra caution.

He added that five arrests have been made in connection to the robbery of another kiosk, also in Chlorakas.

“We will continue doing our job in tackling such incidents, but we also require the cooperation of the owners and from the public,” he said, explaining that bakeries were targeted in the past.

The latest incident unfolded at 3:40am at a kiosk on Makarios avenue in Chlorakas, when a masked perpetrator, wearing black clothes, entered and brandished a pistol – demanding the cash from the till.

This time, the suspect made off with €300 while the robbery on Wednesday the robber made off with €400.

Both times, the suspect arrived and left on foot, used the same weapon and carried out the robbery in the early hours.

“Police are investigating, they check cars, and are on constant patrols but we can’t be outside every kiosk and bakery,” Nikolaou said, adding that there are some measures which can be taken to minimise risk.

He explained that having two members of staff working night shifts together, along with reducing the amount of cash stored in tills could help significantly.

Chlorakas has been hit hard by a string of similar incidents, with another kiosk being robbed on Wednesday, too, in which two suspects with bats took €2,100. The two suspects then appear to have escaped with the assistance of a third person acting as a getaway driver.

The district’s police unit announced on Thursday that two arrests were made in connection to that robbery, with Nicolaou adding thatg as of Friday morning that number had risen to five.

The first two – aged 26 and 27 – were arrested with a court warrant, while another two – aged 21 and 22 – were later arrested to facilitate investigations.

Nicolaou explained that the 27-year-old was arrested after testimonies were made against him. He was given a four-day remand.

The arrest of two 26-year-olds then followed, again after relevant testimonies – both arrested on Thursday.

One of the two had his apartment searched by the police in which the two younger suspects were found. During the search, officers found various power tools for which the suspects could not provide adequate reasoning as to how they came into their possession – leading to them being held in custody.

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