Eight people in the Paphos and Limassol districts were arrested on suspicion of having funded an unnamed terrorist organisation, police spokesman Christos Andreou confirmed on Thursday.
Andreou said those arrested were seven men and one woman, all of whom are Syrian nationals who live in Cyprus. Five of those arrested live in Limassol, and the other three live in Paphos.
“The individuals appear to have secured money and financed a terrorist organisation located in a third country,” he said, later clarifying that the terrorist organisation is also located in Syria.
For this reason, he said, the eight had been arrested on suspicion of having conspired to commit a felony, participating in a criminal organisation, and violating anti-terrorism laws.
He was keen to reassure the public that despite the group’s links to a terrorist organisation abroad, “there is no information that these persons were going to proceed with any terrorist act” in Cyprus or elsewhere.
Earlier news reports had suggested that in addition to money, the eight were also sending drugs to the terrorist organisation.
The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.
