Authorities were on Tuesday still investigating the case of the unlawful transfer from the central prisons of thousands of documents – marked as ‘confidential’ or ‘secret’ – with five suspects still in custody.

The five suspects are four prison wardens and a female police cadet. They are being held by police for questioning. Their remand order expires this coming Friday, at which point they would either be released or their remand extended.

The suspects are linked to the discovery of official documents in the home of another prison warden. The documents were found in his residence on April 10, as part of an investigation into a different case.

They are suspected of conspiracy to commit a criminal offence, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, abuse of power, breach of official secrecy, breach of privacy laws, and unlawful possession of property.

According to media reports, the material found in the prison warden’s home included documents relating to the 2018-2022 period, architectural schematics of the central prisons, original documents, copies of documents with authentic signatures, and files on prison inmates.

In a follow-up report on Tuesday, daily Politis said police have managed to narrow down the period during which the bulk of the documents were taken out of the central prisons – between November and December 2022.

Citing its sources, the newspaper said the documents were taken out by way of a staircase next to the administrative offices at the prisons. They were reportedly hidden in cloth bags. In some cases a vehicle of the Department of Corrections was used.

As for the prison warden in whose home the documents were discovered, he is currently not under custody. He had previously been arrested, questioned, and held by police. He was released once his remand expired.

But it’s understood he remains a person of interest in this case.

The Cyprus Mail understands that he is the same person indicted in an upcoming trial where he and two others face charges for corruption, bribery and racketeering.

They stand accused of organising and participating in a scam in the prisons, where a convict would buy items from the prison canteen and then sell them to other inmates at a marked-up price.

The scam took place allegedly with the full knowledge and active participation of the warden, who took a cut to look the other way.

It was while investigating that case that police found the official prison documents in the warden’s home.

Meantime the material found in his residence included official correspondence between the prisons authorities and other departments. Many of the documents are marked ‘confidential’ or ‘secret’.

Police also reportedly found CDs with video footage from cameras at the prisons.

According to Politis, investigators are looking to answer two key questions: first, who authorised the removal of the documents, and secondly the reason why the documents were removed.