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Authorities are investigating suspected arson after a fire destroyed multiple vehicles at a sales yard in Paphos early Saturday, an incident that prompted the mayor to issue a blistering public denunciation of organized crime and government inaction.
The fire broke out at about 2:45 a.m. at a vehicle yard on Mesogi Avenue owned by a 59-year-old Greek Cypriot, according to Assistant Paphos Police Director Michalis Nikolaou.
“The Police were informed of a fire at a vehicle sales premises,” Nikolaou said. “The fire was extinguished by the Fire Service after it had destroyed a number of cars, motorcycles and other equipment displayed at the premises. Extensive damage was also caused to the building in question.”
Eight cars, 11 motorcycles, three electric golf-type vehicles and a jet ski were damaged or destroyed, police said. Preliminary examinations indicate the blaze was set deliberately.
Hours later, Paphos Mayor Phedon Phedonos used social media to link the incident to what he described as the unchecked spread of organized crime and extortion in Cyprus.
“Minister, we do not deserve this Cyprus, where organized crime, made up of locals and foreigners who sell ‘protection’, has turned our country into a place of insecurity,” Phedonos wrote. “Every citizen and honest businessperson is afraid to operate.”
“They burn down businesses worth millions, as happened yesterday in Paphos,” he added. “Do something substantive, not just communication tactics and meaningless statements.”
In a second statement, the mayor directly criticized the justice minister and the government, arguing that organized crime flourished because money laundering was allowed to grow unchecked in previous years.
“Organized crime grew because in previous years money laundering was allowed to develop unchecked in Cyprus,” Phedonos said. “As a result, criminal networks, mainly from abroad, settled in the country, organized themselves, and began to collect steady and specific sums as ‘protection’ and mediation from businesses linked to money laundering.”
Phedonos said the justice minister should first confront the government’s own responsibility before seeking additional powers from Parliament.
“Before addressing Parliament, it would be better for him to first address the President of the Republic and the very government of which he is a member,” he wrote, calling for “clear and specific decisions” by the Council of Ministers.
He urged decisive action against money laundering and demanded the effective activation of oversight and enforcement bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, MOKAS and other state departments, “with political will and clear instructions.”
“Of course, Parliament can and should assist by providing additional tools where needed,” Phedonos said. “But not through Pontius Pilate–style practices and the shifting of responsibility, as if neither the minister himself nor the government bears responsibility for what has happened.”
Police said investigations into the fire are continuing.
