A PAPHOS police officer could lose his job if he is found guilty of conspiring to burgle a local supermarket of thousands of euros worth of cigarettes.
The 33-year-old was remanded in custody for three days in connection with a break-in at a Mesoyi supermarket on Wednesday night. Among other things, he faces charges of attempting to tamper with evidence and of acting as an accomplice.
A 20-year-old man was remanded in custody for seven days in connection with the same case. The younger man was the one who allegedly committed the actual break-in and made off with over 100 cartons of cigarettes.
Police chief Iacovos Papacostas said the officer had already been suspended from active duty.
He confirmed that the officer had been convicted in the past for the illegal possession of a starting gun. Although the 33-year-old never did any jail time he was given a three-year suspended sentence.
Papacostas said the officer had then faced a disciplinary investigation. He said although there had been suspicions the officer had been involved in the movement of counterfeit money, there had never been enough proof to charge him.
“We only had evidence to charge him with possession of a starting gun. We wanted a more serious sentence but the charge did not warrant one,” he said.
Nevertheless the police chief said the man had been severely penalised.
“During his suspension he lost half his benefits, which is a serious penalty,” he said.
“When he returned to active duty he was closely monitored and under strict probation. He wasn’t just allowed back to act upon his own devices.”
Papacostas said the officer’s alleged involvement in this incident was his first breach of that probation.
“He has been suspended. When the trial is over he will face a disciplinary investigation and will be awarded the proportionate penalty.”
Police sources said if found guilty of the charges the officer would likely lose his job this time.
“They had wanted to get rid of him the last time but they couldn’t because the charge wasn’t serious enough,” the source said.
The 33-year-old has been accused of trying to retrieve a mobile phone from the burglary getaway car.
The 20-year-old was arrested after a witness reported the theft to police, giving a good description of the vehicle seen fleeing the scene. Reports said the witness had actually chased after the getaway car to try and stop the burglar after spotting the break-in.
