LIMASSOL - A tip-off from a member of the public led to the arrest of a team of alleged burglars who had entered Cyprus through the occupied areas.
Two Albanian nationals are being held on an eight-day remand following their arrest on Saturday evening while a third, also believed to be Albanian, is still being sought by police.
Police spokesman Andreas Angelides said that their apprehension came about after a man heard suspicious noises emanating from the back of a building while he was withdrawing cash from an ATM at around 11.30pm on Saturday and alerted police.
When officers arrived at the scene the three men attempted to escape. One got away on foot while the other two escaped in a car.
Police apprehended the first suspect who was in possession of a number of tools that were taken as evidence. Police then went to the house where the detained man lived and found another man, aged 33, who police arrested.
More tools were found on the premises and after further questioning the pair admitted that they had entered Cyprus via the occupied areas with the intention to commit burglaries.
Police are now investigating if this team were working independently of part of a wider system of organised crime.
Angelides added that the police were cracking down on property crime following a spate of burglaries and thefts and that any public assistance given to the police in the prevention of crime or apprehension of criminals was greatly appreciated.