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Stavros Konniotis, Divisional Commander of Paphos’ Local Police Force, during his interview with the Sunday Mail, pointed out to increasing crime rate in Paphos due to usage of hard drugs, like cocaine and heroin, mostly by foreign residents and tourists.

There are immigrants from Greece, United Kingdom, Russia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Syria, India, Ukraine, Yugoslavia and from other countries in Southern Cyprus, whose total number is around 65.000. Greek Pontians, who constitute the largest size of immigrants in Paphos, 17.459 according to the statistical data of 2001, have been shown as responsible for the rise of crimes, such as burglaries and thefts.

The Paphos Police Department has become incapable to tackle with increasing drug trafficking and crimes. Konniotis made the following confession: “We have the same number of staff we had 10 years ago, but in the past 10 years crime has skyrocketed and we are finding it hard to cope.” Although the level of crime in Paphos is lower than in Larnaca and Limassol, inhabitants of Paphos are afraid of becoming victims of crime more than peoples of Larnaca and Limassol.

Consequently, Paphos has become a dangerous place not only for the tourists but also for locals as well.