A white van that entered government-controlled areas illegally from the occupied north through an unauthorised crossing sparked a dramatic car chase through Nicosia in the early hours of Tuesday morning, ending only after police fired shots at its tyres near the Latsia weighbridge on the Nicosia–Limassol motorway.
The two occupants, a driver from Turkey holding a Bulgarian identity card, and a Turkish Cypriot passenger, were handcuffed at the scene and are expected to appear before Nicosia District Court shortly for a remand hearing on various offences under investigation.
The incident began after a tip-off about tobacco smuggling. Police took up positions in the Lympia area in the early hours. When the van was spotted emerging from the occupied north through an illegal crossing and signalled to stop, the driver accelerated, rammed the police vehicles and fled towards Nicosia.
A wild chase through the capital’s streets followed. The driver at one point turned back in an attempt to flee the city, at which point police approached the vehicle and fired a number of shots at its tyres, hitting one. Despite the puncture, the driver continued, with the wheel rim on the tarmac throwing up sparks, before the van was finally brought to a halt at the Nicosia–Limassol motorway.
According to sources, the van has not yet been opened as the driver is withholding consent. Police have applied for a search and seizure warrant. The vehicle is suspected of having been used to smuggle tobacco products from the occupied north. Customs officers are expected to open it shortly in the presence of police and the two suspects. Investigations are ongoing.