Police arrested a 35-year-old last night, shortly before midnight, over a serious attack on food delivery drivers in Mouttalos, Paphos, on Tuesday evening.
He is expected to appear before Paphos District Court, where police will request a detention order, police said. Paphos CID’s investigation continues, and authorities are seeking other people believed to have taken part in the attack.
The incident began around 8:40pm on Tuesday, when a 26-year-old delivery driver went to an address in Mouttalos to deliver a food order. According to information under investigation, an unknown man, reportedly accompanied by three others, refused to pay for the order on arrival and then attacked the driver, throwing a stone at him.
The 26-year-old alerted colleagues, who rushed to the area. Shortly afterwards, around ten unknown men reportedly gathered at the scene, some of them apparently holding metal objects. They then attacked the delivery drivers and damaged their motorcycles, knocking some of them to the ground, police said.
Second driver targeted nearby
According to information police are investigating, the situation escalated further when four of the unknown individuals got into a vehicle and drove toward Mouttalos, where they found a 22-year-old delivery driver who had just completed a delivery. Three of the men got out and attacked him, then took cash and his mobile phone before fleeing in an unknown direction, police said.
Five injured, one remains in hospital
Five delivery drivers were injured in total during the incidents. All were taken by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital, where they were examined by the on-duty doctor and found to have various injuries. Four were discharged, while one remains in hospital for further treatment.
Police are investigating offences including robbery, assault causing actual bodily harm, riotous behaviour, illegal possession and carrying of an offensive weapon, common assault and malicious damage in connection with the case.
The 35-year-old’s arrest marks a significant development in the investigation, though the case remains open. Authorities are continuing their inquiries to identify the remaining people involved and establish the full circumstances of the attack.
(Information from Cyprus News Agency)
