Four individuals identified as citizens of the Greek Cypriot Administration were detained by police while conducting land surveys and assessments in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), according to security sources.

The suspects were caught by security forces near the town of Iskele while surveying land, police sources said.

The suspects were allegedly collecting documents and conducting assessments as part of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s ongoing efforts to identify and prosecute those acquiring property in the TRNC.

The four detainees are expected to appear in court, while authorities are investigating their possible ties to the Greek Cypriot Administration’s intelligence agency and who may have directed their actions.

Since last year, the Greek Cypriot Administration has been pursuing legal action and arrests targeting individuals who purchased property in the TRNC.

TRNC officials argue that the true aim behind these actions is to undermine the construction sector and the broader economy.

Cyprus issue

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot Administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.