Thefts may be related to financial crisis, say police
LIMASSOL police have voiced concern over an increase in armed robberies in the seaside town, with three taking place in a 24-hour period. In two of the incidents the culprits were armed and one involved the attempted murder of an elderly kiosk employee.
Limassol Police Director Andreas Kousioumis linked the frequent attempted robberies to the impacts of the financial crisis.
“This is a worrying phenomenon and we are intensely concerned about it. I ask for the co-operation of the public, mainly in houses and shops that neighbour kiosks and bakeries, which are the possible targets of robbers,” he added.
The latest armed robbery took place yesterday morning at 9am, when two hooded robbers held-up the Co-operative Bank at Monagroulli, taking €4,000. The two men entered the bank holding rifles and while one of them stayed at the entrance, the second told the bank’s only cashier to hand over the money.
The terrified female clerk gave him the cash and the robber placed it in a bag. Both men fled the scene on foot, but it is believed that an escape vehicle may have been parked nearby. A police helicopter searched the area in a bid to track down the robbers, but to no avail.
The suspects are described as being young and of medium build. At the time of the robbery, one of them was wearing dark-coloured trousers and a tracksuit top, and the second was also wearing dark clothes.
In a separate incident, which took place just hours before the Co-op robbery, two hooded men holding pieces of wood entered a kiosk on the main road of Yermasoyia village. Upon entering, the robbers attacked a 63-year-old kiosk employee, started hitting him with the sticks and demanded that he give them the money from the cash register.
The 63-year-old man refused to give them any money, which enraged the robbers. As a result one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed the man on the chest, wounding him seriously.
Despite his wounds, the 63-year-old managed to grab the wooden stick from one of the robbers and attack them with it, chasing them out of the shop. The robbers fled without taking anything.
The man was taken to Limassol Hospital where he underwent surgery and is being kept in the intensive care unit. His condition is considered serious but out of danger.
“The 63-year-old displayed a truly commendable and courageous resistance, cancelling the plans of the would-be robbers, despite the fact that in his effort to expel them he sustained [serious] . He continued resisting until he forced them to flee,” Kousioumis said.
Meanwhile, just one day earlier on Tuesday, a grocery store was robbed in Amathunda, when hooded robbers snatched the kiosk employee’s bag containing €4,000.
