Three remanded for robbing churches in Paphos

The three suspects who were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of carrying out a spate of robberies at churches in Paphos were all remanded in custody for eight days on Wednesday.

Paphos police’s deputy operations chief Michalis Nikolaou explained that the three had all admitted to their crimes under interrogation, and that police are continuing their investigations to determine how much money they actually stole.

He added that one of the three suspects was taken to juvenile court as he is 16 years old.

In addition, he said police are searching for a 44-year-old man who is also a suspect.

A total of 13 break-ins had taken place at churches in the Paphos district in the space of 22 days at the end of January and the beginning of February, with money and religious paraphernalia having been reported stolen.

Following investigations, police identified two males, aged 20 and 16 years old respectively, as potential suspects.

They were located shortly before midday on Tuesday in a car. They were arrested alongside the car’s driver, who is 25 years old.

The driver was found to be in possession of “various items which he could not adequately explain”, including gold leaves, coins, watches and other expensive items.

A search of the car also uncovered tools which could be used for a burglary, gloves, masks, coins and other objects.