Arrest after antiquities stash found at home of Paphos man

A 58 year old man from Peyia, Paphos, was arrested on Thursday for illegal possession of ancient coins and other antiquities, a police spokesman said.

Acting on a tip, Paphos CID detectives conducted a search in the man’s home where a “large quantity of ancient objects, coins and jewellery” were found.

Numerous objects, including 58 amphorae, 20 golden artefacts and six ancient bayonets, were confiscated from the suspect’s home.

According to an antiquities department official, the objects date back to the Hellenistic period.

In addition, six firearms were found and confiscated, five dating back to the early 1900s. The sixth was a Russian-made AK47 type automatic.

Other suspicious objects identified at the suspect’s residence included a metal detector, several coins and notes from various periods, jewellery and gold chalices, as well as the amount of €9.411 in cash.

The police have announced that a thorough inspection of the evidence collected would be performed by the Antiquities department on Friday.

Following his arrest on suspicion of illegal possession of antiquities, the suspect will be brought before the Paphos district court.

During questioning, the 58-year old failed to provide convincing explanations as to the origin of the objects, police said.

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