Woman ‘tied and gagged’ by hooded men in own home (Updated)

A woman was tied and gagged by four hooded men who broke into her home in the Limassol village of Erimi on Tuesday evening.

According to the police, the woman was confronted inside her home by the four men, who were threatening her and demanding money while speaking in English.

After the four left the scene, the woman was found tied up by her housekeeper. The housekeeper, who lives in an adjacent property, had realised something untoward was going on when she heard noises coming from the house and her internet and telephone landline were cut off.

The woman was taken to a private clinic for examinations, which found that the areas where she had been tied up had turned red.

As of Thursday afternoon, she remains under observation.

Initial police investigations into the incident have not found any of the woman’s possessions to have been stolen, with investigations ongoing.

Speaking to Alpha TV later on Thursday, Limassol police chief Lefteris Kyriakou said the woman had reported that one of the four who invaded her home was armed, and that he threatened her with his gun.

In addition, he said, police are investigating the possibility that the home invasion may have been linked to an armed robbery at a party in Limassol which took place in February.

It has been noted that in both incidents, the perpetrators targeted isolated properties, used cable ties to tie their victims up, and took their victims’ phones off them without stealing them.

In addition, in both incidents, the victims spoke of there being four hooded assailants.

Despite the links being drawn, he said, “we have not drawn any conclusions on who the possible perpetrators are. We had some information about their possible nationality and other related information, but there has been no satisfactory testimony as yet.”

It is believed that the four are either Russian or from another country of the former Soviet Union.