The Pancyprian Union ISOTITA says game wardens have been targeted by organised crime, following an attack on a colleague whose personal vehicle was set ablaze early Monday morning.
The union denounced in the strongest terms what it called a brazen cowardly attack when criminal elements set fire to the colleague’s personal vehicle, destroying it completely.
“This action is not random. There are now indications and suspicions that it is directly connected to the colleague’s performance of official duties, confirming that game wardens have been targeted by organised crime in an undeclared war raging uncontrolled,” the union said in a statement.
The union recalled that the service has been marked by violence, referencing the 1999 murder of its then-head Savvas Savva, who was killed when the underworld bombed his vehicle.
Since then, the list of attacks with explosive devices and arson against game wardens remains an open wound, the union said, adding that the state knew and knows about this situation.
The union highlighted what it called the most disturbing element: corruption and information leaks from within. Criminals do not act blindly but appear to know with chilling accuracy wardens’ movement schedules, arrival and departure times, and personal data including when they are at home and when absent, the statement said.
The union said frontline workers are trapped between two fronts: ruthless criminal networks on one side and “Trojan horses” within the service who inform the underworld, leaving wardens exposed.
The union stated it has been sounding the alarm since January 2025 with the Interior Minister and service management, submitting written complaints about corruption and proposals.
Instead of substantive intervention, it received contempt and deafening silence, with no one in senior positions daring to touch the “hot iron” of entanglement, the statement said.
The union noted that impunity has emboldened criminals, making beatings, clashes and malicious actions a tragic routine, whilst demands for safety and health have been pending unjustifiably since 2019.
The union demanded immediate police training, establishment of 24-hour armed authorization for self-defence, creation of an anti-poaching unit staffed by incorruptible officials, and development of operational protocols that are currently non-existent.
“We warn the responsible officials that they are deemed utterly unacceptable and bear full responsibility for whatever happens from now on,” the union said, adding that tolerance has ended and radical solutions and cleansing are required now, with human life protection and workers’ voices as the first priority.