The violent clash between two criminal groups in central Larnaca on Saturday afternoon, carried out with complete disregard for the hundreds of citizens present, including many children who were either out for an evening stroll or passing through the area in their cars, sends yet another stark message of the utter brazenness of these criminal elements.
The fact that these groups chose to “settle their differences” by attacking one another with axes, clubs and even firearms, just a few metres from the city’s Police Headquarters, is telling. It demonstrates precisely how much they “respect” and “fear” the police. It is yet another indication that they now feel untouchable, operating above the law and beyond any sense of order.
This, of course, has an explanation.
For years now, the police and the wider security authorities have completely lost control of the situation, and most importantly, have lost the battle against the underworld and organised crime. Murders and other serious crimes bearing the clear imprint of organised criminal activity remain, curiously, unsolved. Killers and major criminal figures either evade arrest altogether or, even when apprehended, rarely face charges solid enough to lead to conviction.
Some argue that the police have been infiltrated by the underworld. This is an extremely serious allegation and cannot be adopted without evidence and proof. Regardless of whether this is the case, however, one thing is undeniably clear: the police are afraid of the underworld.
While certain facts are common knowledge, while specific crimes and criminal activities are linked to known names and addresses, no one dares to touch them.
Particularly troubling questions arise regarding the handling of so-called “protection” rackets, which appear to have been the very reason behind the savage clash in Larnaca and which arguably constitute the most serious form of organised crime currently plaguing Cyprus.
Small and large businesses alike, as well as individuals of financial means, are forced by protection rings to pay substantial sums simply to “keep their heads down” and avoid trouble.
These criminal networks are more or less known, yet the police allow them to operate unhindered. Why, exactly? Could it be that as long as the extorted payments keep flowing, everything “runs smoothly”, and the police themselves also get to “keep their heads down”, spared the inconvenience of investigating arson attacks, bombings, or even murders?
At some point, someone must explain and answer a very simple question: why, to this day, have we not seen a single protection racket dismantled, with its protagonists brought before the courts?