An urgent inquiry was launched in Cyprus on Wednesday night after an undercover police operation exposed a group of up to 100 tourists, including Britons, taking part in what was described a mass orgy aboard a cruise ship off the island.
The scenes, shown on local TV and described as ”debauched”, were broadcast after being caught on camera in the police sting. Arrests are expected in the coming days. ”These scenes are not just graphic, they go beyond every conceivable limit,” the island’s deputy chief of police, Sotiris Haralambous, said. ”We are talking about 50, 100 people involved in acts of total debauchery. It’s hard to even describe.”
The still pictures, leaked to the privately owned Mega TV channel and broadcast in suitably edited form, show the ferrygoers during the night cruise in international waters off the island. Some revellers are seen nude and taking part in various sex acts; others appear clothed, gawping from around the deck. One man is wearing a T-shirt clearly emblazoned with the words ”100% Brummie”.
”To say these pictures are shocking is to put it mildly,” said an employee at the TV station. ”They’re outrageous, very wild. Whether dressed or not, it very clear that everyone in them is, how shall I put it, in the mood.”
The ferry, which could take up to 200 passengers, is believed to have started out from the resort of Ayia Napa.
”They’re all quite young, under 30, and from the look of it tourists from Britain and Scandinavia,” Haralambous said. The unnamed vessel, which is believed to be owned by a foreigner, was skippered by a Greek Cypriot operating on a licence from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation.
The captain was being questioned last night about the trip, which was billed as a £30 night cruise with meal.
Because the scenes took place in international waters, beyond Cypriot jurisdiction, authorities will have to request arrest warrants from Interpol. ”The owner obviously knew a thing or two about the law because, as far as we know, these acts did not happen in Cyprus’ territorial waters,” the police officer added.
But the Greek Cypriot government said on Wednesday it would not be deterred, particularly as drugs appear to have been consumed on the boat. The scenes had blighted ”the good image of Cyprus” and provoked ”great shock,” the island’s minister of tourism and commerce, Giorgos Lalikas, told Mega’s primetime news. – Guardian Unlimited Â