BURGLARIES - 24/11 - Football Pitch area - did you see anything or anyone unusual around?

There were three burglaries over the weekend [the night of 24 November] in the area around the Football pitch.  Details of two of the burglaries were covered in the press:

From in-cyprus today:

Burglars have made off with €12,500 in cash and jewellery from two houses in Tala, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Sunday.

It said that a German permanent resident of Cyprus had reported to police that his home was broken into between 6 pm and 11 pm on Saturday and taken €6,000 euro in cash and jewellery worth €2,500.

The burglars appear to have accessed the house from a window.

The second burglary was of a home of a British permanent resident of Cyprus and occurred between 7.45 pm and 11 pm.  Cash of €260 euro and jewellery worth €4,000 were taken with the burglars appearing to have gained access from the back, aluminum sliding door in the sitting room.

Two of the three properties had burglar alarms but neither were functioning.

For two of the incidents, a sliding aluminium door was forced, but for the third incident entry was gained as the window was unlocked.

Please ensure all doors and windows are locked whenever you leave the property - even if you are just dashing to the kiosk for milk.

Please do not keep large amounts of cash in the house.  If you use a safe ensure it is substantial enough to warrant holding the amount of cash and valuables you wish to use it for and that it is securely fixed to the property.

If ever you see a strange vehicle around, take a note of the colour, make, model, and registration number, plus the time and date you spot this.  If you are suspicious of said vehicle or the occupants, please phone the police.  The information may prove useful at a later date if there is an incident in the area.

If you have an alarm, please check on a regular basis that the batteries are functioning and that the SIM card is operational. 

About a week before the incidents, a small car, light in colour [white or silver] was seen driving around the area slowly.  It stopped at a corner and two men got out and were walking around appearing to look at houses.

One of the residents affected has asked:

-Did anyone spot a car that matches this description on the night of Saturday 24 November, or any other strange vehicle driving around or parked in a strange place?   Is the vehicle still in the immediate area, or elsewhere in Tala, with the driver behaving strangely?
-Did anyone take a note of the registration number?
-Did anyone see two men, possibly Eastern Mediterranean, slim build, average or smaller height?
-Did anyone notice that the gates to the property at 13 Perama were open - if so what time please.  The gates to this property are always closed. 

If you have any information which may be of assistance, please call Samantha on 99 756094