Police extended remand of suspected serial burglar

POLICE have extended the remand of a 60-year-old man believed to have committed a string of burglaries around Nicosia.

Bekir Ahmet Abit was first arrested and detained in police custody for eight days on December 12 after he allegedly confessed to six cases in which a total of £280 was stolen as well as various beverages and cartons of cigarettes from various cafes and restaurants around Nicosia between July 7 and December 7 this year.

Yesterday, CID Constable Charis Avraamides reiterated his department’s reasons for wanting to keep the suspect in remand but also said that investigators were looking into whether the suspect was involved in the burglary of a sports shop in Strovolos.

“Between July 25 and 26 and between 8.20pm and 8.55am, a sports store was broken into in Strovolos and various sports equipment were stolen amounting to £7,000. The burglary was reported and investigators had discovered the culprit or culprits had entered by breaking through the lock of the main door of the store,” said Avraamides.

The constable also said that police were now also investigating the suspect’s involvement in the recent break-in at a travel agency.

“Nothing was stolen after the burglars ran off once the burglar alarm was triggered”, he added.
According to investigators, Abit later confessed at Nicosia CID telling officers that he worked with an accomplice who was not from Nicosia but from another district of Cyprus.
Police believe that Abit may also be in league with some youths who were recently remanded on suspicion of committing burglaries around Nicosia.

Apart from Nicosia, Abit has also told officers that he stole from restaurants and cafes in other districts around the island.

Yesterday, Judge Alexandros Panayiotou remanded Abit for a further eight days in light of the new suspicions that have arisen against him.

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