Remand for Mammari armed robbers

FOUR MEN were yesterday remanded in custody for eight days in connection with Wednesday’s failed co-op armed robbery in Mammari.

The Sudanese suspects, who are legal residents on the island, have confessed to the robbery, but they will not be officially charged until next week.

According to State Prosecutor Antigoni Michael, the four men, who were living in Mammari, are set to face around seven charges each, including armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm.

They could face as much as eight years’ imprisonment if found guilty.
On Wednesday morning, three men wearing black balaclavas, the first holding a pistol, the second a shotgun and the third a knife, entered a co-op bank in Mammari and stole around £24,000.

The fourth man was the escape driver.
At the time of the attack, there were two cashiers in the branch and one customer.
Local police as well as a police helicopter were quickly mobilized, and after a short pursuit, caught a car with four Sudanese passengers in Ayioi Trymithias.
After their arrest, the four men led police to a field where they had hidden the money, along with the weapons used during the robbery.

All four men were Mammari residents and according to eyewitnesses and village residents, owed money to various convenient stores and kiosks.
Addressing the court yesterday, two of the four suspects admitted the crime saying they were sorry and that they did it because they were out of work and had no money
Judge Lemonia Kaoutzani ordered that all eight men remain in custody until their next court date.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.