Authorities in Cyprus have cast doubt on claims of an attempted child abduction earlier this week.
Dundee man Greg Letford, 28, told The Courier that a couple had led two young children towards a waiting car and another person had a third child “ready to go” at the Anastasia Beach Hotel in Protaras.
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.
The UK Government has described the incidents as “concerning” and consular officers have since visited the eastern coastal resort of Protaras to provide advice and support, while police in the country continue to investigate.
Local police have said their initial investigations do not substantiate some of the most serious claims made, but their statement has left Scots families accusing Cypriot authorities of a cover-up.’People are trying to cover this up’Responding to suggestions that the abduction claims were unfounded, one woman contacted The Courier to say: “My family just returned from this hotel last night and were present when the attempted abduction took place.
“The abductors had been taking pictures of the children all week unknown to the parents.
“My family were terrified. I am absolutely disgusted that people are trying to cover this up.”
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 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.”Firm helped to move families from hotelIn an updated statement, holiday operator Thomas Cook said it continued to work closely with the hotel and with local authorities with regards to the allegations.
A spokesman said: “The safety and welfare of our customers is always our first priority and upon hearing about the alleged incident, we immediately deployed our experienced resort team to the property to provide those customers in residence with individual support.
“On request, we assisted 16 customer bookings who wished to move to an alternative hotel and two families who travelled back to the UK early.
“Although there are conflicting reports as to what exactly occurred at the property, we would like to reassure all customers that we take all allegations incredibly seriously and we are continuing to work closely with our customers in resort and the local authorities.
“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.”
Thomas Cook said it continued to offer holidays to the Anastasia Beach and the island of Cyprus.
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