THE CIVILIAN informant who led authorities to the capture of a police officer seeking to buy a rocket launcher had contacted none other than the Police Chief himself, it emerged yesterday.
The police officer was arrested on Monday during a sting operation in Latsia, outside Nicosia moments after purchasing a LAW rocket launcher from the civilian supplier for €5,000. Police had been tipped off by the supplier and were waiting for the deal to be closed before moving in.
The officer has been suspended from active duty and now faces criminal and disciplinary charges.
Under questioning, he claimed to be working on an arms trafficking case and had been planning to inform his superiors – which he never did, as police log records have shown.
The 44-year-old officer has been remanded in custody until Monday. In a separate case dating several years ago, he had been suspected of illegally purchasing a pistol, but had been cleared.
The LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) is a shoulder-fired, disposable launcher that comes pre-packaged with a rocket. Once fired, the launcher is then thrown away. The rocket is capable of penetrating a foot of armour, but its effective range is only 170 to 220 metres.
Police are chasing leads that the officer may have ties to gangland figures, and suspect the weapon may have been intended for use against other criminal foes.
The Criminal Investigation Department is said to be seeking a warrant granting access to the officer’s phone records in order to determine the intended final recipient of the weapon.
During the officer’s remand hearing on Monday, the court heard that the police informant had got in touch with Police Chief Michalis Papageorgiou. The informant said he had been approached by the officer, who gave him a downpayment of €2,000 for the rocket launcher, the remaining €3,000 to be paid on delivery.
The informant alerted police just before his next meeting with the officer. Police waited for the transaction to be completed and moved in to catch the suspect in the act.
It emerged also the police officer had initially asked for two rocket launchers, but the civilian said he could only get hold of one for him.
The case is the latest scandal to rock the police, coming just days after the new leadership pledged to stamp out corruption in the force.
