Limassol criminal court on Friday handed down prison sentences to three men in connection with 20 separate burglaries, thefts and attempted burglaries.

According to police, the three defendants, two 46-year-olds and a 41-year-old, were arrested in July after a tip-off from a member of the public concerning a suspicious vehicle circling a block of flats, some of which had been broken into.

Limassol CID located the vehicle at a parking area in Pyrgos and launched a joint investigation with local and traffic police.

The three suspects were stopped on the Limassol-Nicosia motorway, while a search of their apartment yielded items connecting them to 14 burglaries and thefts that had recently been investigated by Limassol CID.

Further investigations showed that the two 46-year-olds were connected to 14 burglaries, with evidence connecting one of them to six more cases of burglary and theft. At the same time, the 41-year-old was connected to only one of the 14 burglaries.

The 20 cases were taken to Limassol criminal court where all three suspects were found guilty.

One of the 46-year-olds was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, the second 4.5 years and the 41-year-old received a six-month sentence for his involvement in one burglary.