Swede jailed for mobile phone raid

A 22-YEAR-old Swedish tourist was yesterday jailed for four months for stealing nine mobile phones from an electronics shop after smashing the front window with a concrete block.

Peter Hagman, the father of a four-year-old daughter, was arrested in Protaras after trying to sell his loot to pub owners who got suspicious and alerted police.

He had stolen the phones earlier in the morning from the Germanos electronics store in the centre of Paralimni.

Hagman stopped outside the shop on his motorcycle, smashed the window, grabbed the phones and took-off, police said.

According to the shop manager the phones were worth £1,687 but were useless because the CyTA deactivated them as soon as the theft was reported.

Antonis Georgiades, defending, told the court that his client had paid the damages to the shop, and pleaded for leniency because his client suffered from psychological problems.

The judge said the suspect had taken advantage of the island’s hospitality, and showed a lack of respect for private property.