Mayor says police ignored his evidence against shooting suspect

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos accused the police on Monday of doing nothing about a suspected underworld figure despite him personally informing the leadership and the ministry of justice.

The outspoken mayor was referring to Elias Mouzos, currently wanted by police in connection with a gunfight in Limassol on Saturday that left an officer critically injured.

On Monday morning, Phedonos tweeted that he had made at least 10 public references to the man and personally informed crime fighting authorities.

“What did they do? Nothing!” he said.

In a news conference later on Monday, the mayor suggested there were corrupt officers who gave everyone a bad name and warned that there will be casualties if “certain people” in the force did not change their mindset.

Phedonos claimed that the suspect led a huge underworld ring in Paphos and the wider district, mainly dealing with drugs.

He said he gave all the proof he had to the police after his public statements and the man was arrested a few days later.

Phedonos said the suspect is known to police in connection with a bomb against a state prosecutor and some four other bombings against people who sought to give up his gang and move to a smaller trafficker.

In response, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said that Phedonos ought to report what he knows to the police instead of making public statements.

The minister said he does not agree with this tactic of the mayor to announce information he possesses on such cases. Making this sort of information public, Nicolaou said, could hinder effective investigation.

“Therefore, I urge the mayor to rush to the police and give all the information he possesses,” Nicolaou said.

If another case did not stand in court, he said, that depended on whether the court had accepted information, evidence, and testimonies submitted by the police.