Members of the YDAP located the 19-year-old fugitive in an abandoned apartment building where he had taken refuge after his escape.
The agency had received information that after his escape from the Lakatamia detention center last Friday night, he had ended up in Limassol.
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An operation was launched, and authorities arrested the 19-year-old as he was leaving the building.
Last Friday, he had been brought before a court in Limassol regarding the sexual harassment of a minor case he is facing. After the proceedings concluded, he was returned to the Lakatamia detention center.
During questioning, he claimed that he took a taxi to Limassol, providing an alibi for his uncle, who is currently being held in custody for five days.
READ ALSO: 80 detainees in a space designed for 40: Loizidis’s “bombshell” following the escape from the Lakatamia detention center
Overcrowding and Controversy
The 19-year-old’s escape has once again brought the issue of overcrowding at the Lakatamia detention center to the forefront. The facility has a capacity for 40 people, yet it currently holds 80 pretrial detainees and convicts who should be in the central prisons.
“The detainees in the holding cells right now are pretrial detainees, convicted prisoners… 24-hour detentions, and individuals being held for identification purposes. And at the same time, you have to separate minors, women, and people who may have mobility issues,”
said Nikos Loizidis
READ ALSO: The fugitive has been arrested, but this “does not negate the fact that an escape took place beforehand,” the police admit
Mr. Loizidis also commented on the conflict that appears to have escalated—as evidenced by the announcements and statements from the Ministry and Police Headquarters— even dividing the members of the force into opposing camps
“I will send a message to police officers to focus on their job of putting an end to the signs and labels associated with a certain faction of the police. So, do you have a problem with that? Everyone knows this,”
said Nikos Loizidis
As he himself stated, he will inform the Minister of Justice and police leadership about the actions taken by officers to locate the fugitive.
Watch Erika Kavazi’s report:
