A HIGH-RANKING police officer, an Asian woman and two pensioners were arrested yesterday on suspicion of running a prostitution ring in old Nicosia following a raid for illegal immigrants in which 28 women and 18 men were rounded up.
The two pensioners, aged 68 and 70, are believed to run a number of brothels in the old town.
Police Spokesman Michalis Katsounotos yesterday said 75 policemen had participated in the early-morning sting during which extensive information and evidence was gathered.
During the raid, 46 people were rounded up, mainly from countries of the Middle and Far East. Among them was a 15-year-old girl from China.
Investigations so far have shown that 10 of the women and nine men were illegal residents, said Katsounotos. “A 50-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the case and was led to Nicosia District Court, which remanded her for eight days to assist investigations,” said Katsounotos.
She faces charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, pimping, exploitation of prostitutes, trafficking of underage persons, labour exploitation and bribery of a public official.
“We are at the initial stage of investigations and interrogations and the Police Chief is pledging publicly that the case will be fully and completely resolved, so that justice is done,” said Katsounotos. He added that yesterday’s sting was active proof of the police force’s determination to combat “all kinds of crimes”.
Probed for more information on the implicated police officer, Katsounotos said certain behaviour had been observed, but it was too soon to make official statements. The policeman is expected to be taken before Nicosia District Court today for a remand hearing.
One of the chief investigators in the case yesterday told the CyBC that the policeman in question had been put under surveillance over the past few days and it emerged that he had allegedly been coming and going from a number of homes that police said were being used as brothels. He also allegedly intervened when two women were arrested recently.
Police confiscated a number of items as evidence, including a large number of condoms and large sums of money yesterday.
The sting was the subject of a lengthy meeting at police headquarters yesterday.
Katsounotos said the other two suspects were connected to the 50-year-old woman who was arrested. They are believed to have run the brothels where some of the women were being kept.
According to a MMAD (rapid reaction unit) officer involved in the sting, a box full of condoms was confiscated from one flat, while police secured evidence that another woman had sent €25,000 to her home country of China – believed to be proceeds from prostitution.
The same officer told the Cyprus Mail: “An old man who was present during the operation asked us: ‘Why are you arresting the Chinese women who are actually rendering a service, instead of the Pontians who are dirty and creating all sorts of trouble.”
