Polish man suspected of spying

A 29-YEAR-old Polish man was remanded on Sunday by the Limassol District Court for four days on suspicion of espionage against the Republic of Cyprus, after he was found hiding inside a Limassol army camp.

The man was detected inside the camp on Saturday by an army cadet and after arresting him, army police searched the man and in his backpack found a digital camera, a laptop, five memory cards, two mobile phones, a GPS and three camera lenses.

All of the equipment will now be reviewed by police intelligence analysts who will examine the full contents of his laptop, memory cards and camera.

“In a preliminary investigation at the scene we found hundreds of photos inside his digital camera, including two from a different army camp,” police spokesman Michael Katsounotos said:

In a written statement the 29-year-old denied being a spy and said he was merely touring Cyprus with his backpack.

Katsounotos said: “He claims that he is not staying anywhere, just touring around the island with his backpack. It seems suspicious that he has nowhere to stay and is wandering about with just his backpack, while his equipment is of the highest quality and expense.”

Police have also uncovered evidence that the man visited the occupied side of the island on two occasions and the main concern according to Katsounotos is “to see whom he met and contacted on the other side.”

The interrogation of the man is set to continue today, while Chief of Police, Michalis Papageorgiou has taken a personal interest in the investigation and has demanded that police department’s technical analysts move as quickly as possible to review the evidence they have.

Katsounotos said “We need to see what information we find on his equipment after that we will refer the case to the Attorney-general who will make the final decision.”