After the torture of seven individuals in a casino backroom was shown in videos, Cypriot police started an investigation into a violent organized crime gang.

On two phones found on a 48-year-old guy, footage that cops describe as some of the most disturbing they have ever seen was discovered. According to The Cyprus Mail, the culprit was taken into custody after a shooting on January 17 outside the Larnaca police station.

The Pyla village close to Larnaca, which is notable for being home to both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, was the location of the torture events, according to police.

Pyla is located within the buffer zone created by the United Nations in 1964 to put an end to intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, ten years before Turkey's military occupation of the northern part of the island in 1974 further fractured the island.

Pyla's peculiar administrative status has made it challenging to control business operations since the region is patrolled by UN peacekeepers rather than by conventional law enforcement agencies, enabling illegal gaming sites and other illegal businesses to spread throughout the town.

Due to the region's divided administration, Cypriot authorities and UN personnel must frequently work together to handle serious offenses committed in the community.

"Office from Hell"

According to police, the films, shot at various times in 2025, showed folks being imprisoned in "an office from hell" on the casino's first level.

According to investigators, the tapes depict victims being beaten, threatened with firearms and knives, and forced to provide money or make admissions.

During one recording, a man with a swollen eye and head injuries is punched, spat on, and verbally insulted. During the attack, he seems to urinate. In another, he screams as he is threatened with mutilation and a knife is struck against his head.

As blood pours from his nose before he collapses, additional footage shows a foreigner pleading not to be beaten as he is repeatedly struck with a metal item. Other videos show knives being sharpened, hands being slashed, belts being used as whips, and victims being kicked while pleading for forgiveness. One victim is shown having a pistol forced into his mouth. There are 16 distinct recordings that feature one man shot in the same space.

A 'prominent businessman' is a gang leader

In connection with the torture case, a 27-year-old has also been taken into custody by the authorities, and a 47-year-old man is also behind bars. Prosecutors think the "significant businessman" is the head of the criminal group, which they claim uses intimidation and violence to collect protection money.

Police are currently searching for a third man, a foreign national, who is thought to have been involved in the torture as well as the January shooting.