Fourth arrest for Paphos church robberies

Police in Paphos on Thursday arrested a fourth man in connection with a spate of robberies at churches in the area.

The man, aged 44, is the father of the 16-year-old boy who was arrested on Tuesday as part of the same investigation.

The boy had been arrested alongside two men, aged 25 and 20, after police found them inside a car.

The trio were remanded in custody for eight days on Wednesday, with Paphos police’s deputy operations chief Michalis Nikolaou saying the three had all admitted to their crimes under interrogation.

He added that police are continuing their investigations to determine how much money they actually stole.

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.

The 25-year-old, who was driving the car in which the original trio were arrested, 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.