Child-snatching gang dressed as waiters caught luring British kids into cars

Cyprus police deny child abduction attempt

Thursday 18 June 2015

An investigation was launched following an incident on June 16 at the Anastasia Beach complex in Protaras.
Dundee holidaymaker Greg Letford, 28, told the Daily Record newspaper that a couple had led two young children towards a waiting car and another person had a third child "ready to go".

However local police said a 19-year-old man had been questioned and released after tourists reported seeing a man filming young children on his mobile phone.
Nothing untoward was found on his phone or during a search of his home, the force said, and officers returned to the hotel to speak to tourists who were concerned that the man was part of a child abduction gang.
Police said they did not find any evidence of this and that the travel company and the UK High Commission office in Cyprus "had expressed their full satisfaction" with their handling of the incident.
The Foreign Office confirmed it had provided assistance to a British family following a "concerning incident", while tour operator Thomas Cook said the matter was being taken "incredibly seriously".
Police deputy spokeswoman Nikoletta Tyrimou told the Cyprus Mail: "We questioned the suspect, went through his phone and also searched his home.
"Nothing we found suggests that he is part of a child-abducting gang or that he was stalking children.
"He has since been released while police take statements from all those present at the scene."
Hotel operator Tsokkos said the child abduction claims were "completely unjustifiable".
The Anastasia Beach complex, on the eastern tip of Cyprus, is described on the Thomas Cook website as being a "perfect family choice".
A spokeswoman said: "The safety and welfare of our customers is always our first priority and, upon hearing about the incident, we immediately deployed our experienced resort team to the property to provide those customers in residence with individual support.
"Customers who did not wish to stay at the property were immediately moved to alternative hotels of a similar or higher standard.
"While incidents of this nature are extremely rare, we would like to reassure all customers that this is being taken incredibly seriously and we are continuing to work closely with the local authorities and the hotel as the investigation continues.
"Any customers with concerns about future holidays at this hotel are asked to contact us directly so that we can deal with them personally and directly."
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "Our consular officers provided advice and support to the family involved following this concerning incident. This is now a matter for the local police who are investigating."
Tsokkos said in a statement: "According to the police investigation, the claims of child abduction are completely unjustifiable and invalid as nothing was found to suggest that the person involved intended to carry out such an act.
"The 19-year-old man involved is not an employee of the hotel and is not a known person to either the management or staff.
"The safety and welfare of our guests is always our first priority and upon becoming aware of the incident, we immediately increased the security personnel at the hotel as well as deployed more management members throughout the property to offer all in-house guests assistance and any other support needed."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/children-targeted-at-cyprus-hotel.129374961

I smell a rat and a BIG rat.

Coincindences:

This family arrived on 16 June.
This family is from Scotland
Missing people bike ride began on Sunday 17th June??? ummm!!

Ok, I am really going to get my coat

What a game.

'phone in'  next on this morning.

Can't 'wait' to 'hear' from 'it happened to US', (but we erm,  'forgot' to 'report' it) 'callers'!

Maybe 'a' Kate M will 'phone' in?  

You can't make this stuff up, you really can't. 

Compare this article with the Daily Mirror article. Notice the similarities? The "car crashing while making a getaway"??

http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/06/19/government-rejects-child-abduction-claims/

Government rejects child abduction claims

By Constantinos Psillides
The uproar in the British media over the alleged attempted kidnapping of three children in Protaras was unnecessary and unsubstantiated, the government said on Friday.
In a written statement, deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said that police had acted promptly upon receiving information about the case and investigated thoroughly, finding absolutely no evidence pointing towards the existence of a child snatching ring.
“The government wishes to emphatically stress that Cyprus was and remains one of the safest tourist destinations worldwide, both for locals and foreign visitors and their children,” Papadopoulos said.
The story of the alleged attempted kidnapping of three British youngsters in the Anastasia Beach hotel on Tuesday is featured prominently in UK media for the third day.
According to the new reports that surfaced, a similar incident took place at the Anastasia Beach hotel last year. A report in the Daily Mail says that Daniel Mann, 28, was vacationing in the hotel along with his partner and two-year old daughter Lillie when the child went missing. Lillie was reportedly with her father at the pool when she vanished. The child was found 40 minutes later, according to the report, in the hands of an “eastern European” woman who was taking the kid to a nearby parking lot. Mann told the Daily Mail that he demanded of the hotel manager to call police but that he refused telling them that “you’ve got her back, that’s it”.
Hotel manager Giannos Michaelides tells a different story. “I never told them not to call police or that they have their child and that’s it. I do not know to which hotel manager they refer to but I was the one here that day,” Michaelides told the Cyprus Mail, adding that his version of the story is quite different.
“The father came to the reception desk saying that his daughter disappeared. I gave instructions to the staff to start looking for her and we found her half an hour later, walking alone in a street behind the hotel. If my memory serves, the family was either leaving that very day or the morning after,” he said.
These reports sprouted following claims of around 60 UK tourists who took part in a wedding party on Tuesday at the pool area of the Anastasia Beach hotel. The holidaymakers told UK press that a gang of three persons –two men and one woman, all Romanians- were filming their kids and trying to lure them away to a pick-up truck and that their attempt was foiled at the last minute by a passerby.
The reports said that the man and the woman were dragged by the holidaymakers to the reception where police were notified. The third gang member left in a getaway car which crashed a short while after leaving the hotel.
It was also reported that the gang was 18 person strong and that the Romanians where stalking children throughout the week posing as hotel waiters.
Cyprus police have repeatedly dismissed these reports, saying that they only arrested a 19-year old Bulgarian, not two people, that there no was no car crash and that they didn’t find any evidence pointing towards a child-snatching gang.
The 19-year old was questioned, his phone and home searched –with his consent- and police found nothing to indicate that he was part of a child snatching gang. Pictures and video on his phone didn’t feature any children and he was released shortly after his arrest.
Hotel manager Giannos Michaelides also dismissed reports of undercover child snatchers, telling the Cyprus Mail that while an incident did take place on Tuesday it involved only one man and that he was immediately escorted off hotel grounds and handed over to the police.
More recent reports in the UK press say that eight arrests were made regarding the case and that police have another Romanian under custody for a different child abduction case.
“Im at a loss for words. This is getting ridiculous,” deputy police spokesperson Nikoletta Tyrimou told the Cyprus Mail, reiterating that there was only one arrest and that there is no Romanian man under custody for child abduction.
Tour operator Thomas Cook issued a statement on Thursday saying that all they move all holiday makers who requested so to a different hotel.
According to a statement by tour operator Thomas Cook, they are working closely with local police to resolve the matter

Daniel 'reported' to police.................as 'SOON AS HE GOT BACK' to.............UK!

Now, i know Uk police have 'long arms' (re: 'long arm of the law') but would even UK police 'LONG arms' be 'able' to 'reach' to Cyprus to 'collar' the 'kidnapper'?

'Gemma' on 'phone in' .............'I was NEARLY 'abducted'!

E Holmes......'after the Madeleine McCann ABDUCTION' (MWT kept 'schtum' on THAT, 'ascertion', from EH!)

I'd like EH to stand up, and SAY that, under oath, in a courtroom!

Judy 'Gin-again?' is on Loose Women with a 'section' on the Maddie 'style' kidnap 'attempts' in Cyprus.

Can't 'wait'!

This from a friend of a friend: 

"I'm in Cyprus and believe me this is not true and the police have confirmed that. It turns out that someone was filming a dance troop and some British holiday makers decided that they were filming their kids - when they weren't and acted like a lynch mob !! Cyprus is property one of the safest places to live and holiday. This has been totally blown up by British press and Holiday makers who don't look after their kids !"

HereeeeeeeeeeS Jim!

J Gamble 'starting' to 'comment' on the Maddie 'style' 'abduction' attempts.

ITV 'news'

Suprised it took him...........so LONG, before 'commenting'

Perhaps all the 'kids' were being 'exploited 'online' and needed his EXPERT 'protection'?

He's 'bound' to be on Sky News, shortly.

Off to 'watch'.

"I'm at a loss for words. This is getting ridiculous"

Well quite. It has been ridiculous, or to be more precise "Ludicrous, since 10pm 3/5/7

jeanmonroe wrote:Daniel 'reported' to police.................as 'SOON AS HE GOT BACK' to.............UK!

Now, i know Uk police have 'long arms' (re: 'long arm of the law') but would even UK police 'LONG arms' be 'able' to 'reach' to Cyprus to 'collar' the 'kidnapper'?

'Gemma' on 'phone in' .............'I was NEARLY 'abducted'!

E Holmes......'after the Madeleine McCann ABDUCTION' (MWT kept 'schtum' on THAT, 'ascertion', from EH!)

I'd like EH to stand up, and SAY that, under oath, in a courtroom!

..... and I NEARLY won the lottery one week.
 
(I did come very close to winning the lottery once - the woman across the road won it. How close is that?)  

Still, 'every cloud' and 'all that', there will be plenty of empty, 'going cheap', rooms at 'that' hotel!

If 'saying' that, i'm not 'trending' on Twatter, then i'm 'giving up' trying!

Portia wrote:OG results due soon?

That too

aquila wrote:Hotel CCTV?

Holidaymakers with cameras and mobile phones didn't take a photograph of the alleged incident/alleged offender?

It's such an unbelievable cr@p

PeterMac wrote:We have, grudgingly, to admire Mitchell and Bell, and the rest.
They are managing this very well.
Story all over the front pages, re-cycled from nearly a YEAR ago,
and then another story tacked on, already denied almost in its entirety by the local police, but very few papers printing the whole truth.
Why bother with the truth when you have a good front page ?

NOTHING at all about the Appeal,
Nothing about the failure of the bike ride to cover its own costs
Nothing about the £30,000+ raised for Dr Amaral
Nothing about the cynicism in the Liverpool Echo
Nothing about the responses in the Loughborough paper

Very clever.
But as with the bike ride making more for GA than it will for KM, it increases the determination of the few (million) who want justice for Madeleine to keep going, to keep exposing the lies
to continue picking away at the story until it bleeds.

Yeah, daughter firm Mitchell McCann Bell Pottinger

Bell better watch out


ETA Do we know if Wall & Co really flew out for this??

If so they are so guilty of wasting the public's money and creating hysteria. Plus putting strain on international relations.

Portia wrote:

"OG results due soon"?

That'll be the SAME 'results' as PJ, then!

Oh, hang on...................

BOTH, PJ & MET (OG)  police 'investigations' are investigating TWO very 'different' lines of 'investigation' (ref: BHH, MET Commissioner)

I'm really perplexed that there isn't more outcry from the public. Do they really not see how they are being played?

http://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/

Scroll down.

Jim Gamble's 'ADVICE'

CHILD PROTECTION 'EXPERT'!

"WELL, ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CHILDREN, Y'KNOW, IN YOUR OWN LINE OF SIGHT WHEN YOU'RE AWAY'!

BACKTRACKERRRRRRR GAMBLE!

THAT IS NOT WHAT HE HAS SAID ABOUT MCCANNS FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS!

'they were only a few yards away at the restaurant, kids OUT OF SIGHT in apartment, nothing WRONG with that.Going back checking.'

YOU FCUKING 'McHYPOCRITE' GAMBLE!

"EVERYONE SHOULD KEEP THEIR KIDS IN OWN LINE OF SIGHT, ALWAYS",............................EXCEPT, IN GAMBLEWORLD, the MCCANNS!

THEY DON'T HAVE TO!

UN-FCUKING-BELIEVABLE!

Yet another one from Jackanory the fine upstanding Daily Mail 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3131606/EXCLUSIVE-s-paedo-Cypriot-hotel-guests-reveal-moment-crowd-angry-British-parents-collared-suspect-accused-trying-snatch-children.html#newcomment

Didn't want to paste the whole thing, but it seems to be more of the same as previous articles about Brits in peril abroad, this one involving a citizens arrest made by a Dad. The holiday companies must be LOVING this in the lead up to the summer hols. 

Amazing how these articles are all turning up together like the proverbial bus you wait ages for...... right on the back of a charity bike ride too 

Edited to add, on rereading there is no clarity on WHEN this supposedly happened, so clearly worms and woodwork resulting from previous hysterical reports. They are desperately trying to whip up a bit of a frenzy here. Comments are allowed (after moderation), already a couple of sensible ones have got through.

http://www.tavento.info/video-o-corpo-de-maddie-mccann-foi-encontrado/  can anyone translate this?


Maddies body found??

Dutchgirl wrote:http://www.tavento.info/video-o-corpo-de-maddie-mccann-foi-encontrado/  can anyone translate this?

Stephen Birch again???

Awaiting translation
The businessman Stephen Birch 47 claims to have found the remains of Maddie on a property just meters from the Ocean Club , where the girl disappeared May 3, 2007 , the news was advanced by Express .
His theory led to an investigation which lasted about one year and three months and the last 15 days has been completed by the time he moved to the Algarve. He and two other South Africans who were with him had to break the law trespassing on private property where they made a prospecting area where judges to be the body of Maddie.
Portuguese police is examining the data and the Scotland Yard asked material to Stephen Birch to check the consistency of his theory. See the interview he gave the Express :

Dutchgirl wrote:Awaiting translation
The businessman Stephen Birch 47 claims to have found the remains of Maddie on a property just meters from the Ocean Club , where the girl disappeared May 3, 2007 , the news was advanced by Express .
His theory led to an investigation which lasted about one year and three months and the last 15 days has been completed by the time he moved to the Algarve. He and two other South Africans who were with him had to break the law trespassing on private property where they made a prospecting area where judges to be the body of Maddie.
Portuguese police is examining the data and the Scotland Yard asked material to Stephen Birch to check the consistency of his theory. See the interview he gave the Express :

Right... 

Police are examining the data and not the remains.

Right...

It's crackpot week.

This is about three years old.
In any event Casa Liliana WAS done over by Gonçalo Amaral and his team, using ground penetrating radar on about day 4.
See the forbidden book for the facts . . . !

So the next question, having dismissed this
is
Why does this story suddenly pop up after all these years.
Why does a Cyprus story about a non- abduction in August 2014 suddenly appear in all the papers in Britain
Have Mitchell and Bell lost control completely ?

PeterMac wrote:This is about three years old.
In any event Casa Liliana WAS done over by Gonçalo Amaral and his team, using ground penetrating radar on about day 4.
See the forbidden book for the facts  . . .   !

So the next question, having dismissed this
is
Why does this story suddenly pop up after all these years.
Why does a Cyprus story about a non- abduction in August 2014 suddenly appear in all the papers in Britain
Have Mitchell and Bell lost control completely ?

Maybe someone wants to kill Thomas Cook.

PeterMac wrote:This is about three years old.
In any event Casa Liliana WAS done over by Gonçalo Amaral and his team, using ground penetrating radar on about day 4.
See the forbidden book for the facts  . . .   !

So the next question, having dismissed this
is
Why does this story suddenly pop up after all these years.
Why does a Cyprus story about a non- abduction in August 2014 suddenly appear in all the papers in Britain
Have Mitchell and Bell lost control completely ?

I really think this is a Kate/Clarrie/Bell revival tour.

They must have been absolutely terrified that Kate could not reach her fund raising goal with all the help she got, while the fund for Dr. Amaral raised threefold in the same time.

It must slowly sink in that 99.9% of comments from the public nowadays is negative for the McCanns.

They must fear what's is going to come out of OG.

They pull out all they have. I expect another sighting too.

It's panic in Rothley.

HIGH COMMISSION FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
  
  Statement on recent media reports on an alleged child abduction incident in Cyprus    
We have been following various media reports in the UK regarding the alleged child abduction case at the Anastasia Beach Hotel in Cyprus.     
We fully appreciate the concerns of parents regarding the safety of their children.   
The allegations are taken seriously by the authorities in Cyprus.  
The Police responded rapidly to complaints made by British nationals that an unknown man was taking pictures and approaching children at the hotel grounds.  The individual, a 19 year old foreign national, was taken into custody for questioning. He has been living in Cyprus with his parents for the past few years and has no police record. His mobile phone, personal computer and home were thoroughly searched by the Police and nothing incriminating or suspicious was found.  
The Police also took statements from the British parents who filed the complaint, as well as from the children themselves. Their statements did not corroborate the allegations concerning a possible abduction plan on the part of the said foreign national. All allegations were duly examined and no evidence was found to support them.  
The various press reports in the UK alleging a planned abduction of children from the hotel by a group of foreign nationals are, therefore, unsubstantiated.   
In view of the fact that due process has been followed, the Cyprus government considers that the news stories in the UK media do not reflect the facts, thus unfairly tarnishing the good reputation of Cyprus.  
The Cyprus Government has excellent co-operation with the competent British authorities in many fields, including crime and justice affairs. The Cyprus Police has been in continuous contact and is cooperating with the British High Commission in Cyprus regarding this matter.          Cyprus is a hospitable holiday destination that receives almost 2.5 million visitors a year.  
It is a family friendly destination with one of the lowest crime-rates in the EU and across the world and continues to be one of the safest tourist destinations.  
19 June 2015  

13 St. James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LB Tel: 020 7321 4100   Fax: 020 7321 4164/5 E-mail: cyphclondon@btconnect.com

Jim Gamble's 'ADVICE' (20th June 2015)

'SELF PROCLAIMED' CHILD PROTECTION 'EXPERT'! (and 'ardent' McCann 'supporter')

"WELL, ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CHILDREN, Y'KNOW, IN YOUR OWN LINE OF SIGHT WHEN YOU'RE AWAY'!
---------------------------------------------------------------

DIDN'T SAY THAT, AND HASN'T EVER SAID THAT, FOR OVER 8 YEARS, WHEN HIS 'BELOVED' MCCANNS ONLY 'CHECKED' ON THEIR THREE, ALL UNDER 4 YEARS OF AGE, OUT OF THEIR OWN SIGHT. CHILDREN, JUST ONCE,.............. IN AN HOUR AND A HALF!

DURING the ONE HOUR AND NINETEEN MINUTES, THE MCCANN's THREE CHILDREN, WERE, DILIBERATELY an CONSCIOUSLY, LEFT ALONE and OUT OF THEIR OWN SIGHT, ONE, OF THEIR THREE CHILDREN....... 'WENT MISSING'!

THE MCCANN'S SHOULD HAVE 'LISTENED/HEEDED' TO JG's 'ADVICE' AND HAVE ALWAYS KEPT THEIR THREE CHILDREN IN THEIR OWN LINE OF SIGHT!

THEN MADELEINE WOULDN'T BE 'MISSING'!

aquila wrote:Hotel CCTV?

Holidaymakers with cameras and mobile phones didn't take a photograph of the alleged incident/alleged offender?

Of course.

You see some man trying to lure a kid into his car,  You don't rush to the aid of the child or scare of the abductor, you get your camera out and take a few photos for the press?

sharonl wrote:

aquila wrote:Hotel CCTV?

Holidaymakers with cameras and mobile phones didn't take a photograph of the alleged incident/alleged offender?

Of course.

You see some man trying to lure a kid into his car,  You don't rush to the aid of the child or scare of the abductor, you get your camera out and take a few photos for the press?

That wasn't quite what I mean sharonl.

Someone did have a camera and took a video.

Here's an update of the Daily Mail article complete with two videos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3131606/EXCLUSIVE-s-paedo-Cypriot-hotel-guests-reveal-moment-crowd-angry-British-parents-collared-suspect-accused-trying-snatch-children.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

aquila wrote:

sharonl wrote:

aquila wrote:Hotel CCTV?

Holidaymakers with cameras and mobile phones didn't take a photograph of the alleged incident/alleged offender?

Of course.

You see some man trying to lure a kid into his car,  You don't rush to the aid of the child or scare of the abductor, you get your camera out and take a few photos for the press?

That wasn't quite what I mean sharonl.

Someone did have a camera and took a video.

Here's an update of the Daily Mail article complete with two videos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3131606/EXCLUSIVE-s-paedo-Cypriot-hotel-guests-reveal-moment-crowd-angry-British-parents-collared-suspect-accused-trying-snatch-children.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Sorry Aquila

I know what you meant, I was just making a point that reaching for your camera in that situation is not the first thing that any normal person would do?  You would do what you could to protect the children first.