By Charlie Charalambous
A 26-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday remanded in custody for eight days on suspicion of planting the bomb that killed chief game warden Savvas Savva on Tuesday.
Charalambos Spyrou, from Kantou, was remanded by a Limassol district court yesterday morning after police said they had eye-witness evidence placing him at the scene of the city centre blast.
A search of Spyrou’s home also uncovered material that could be used to make a bomb similar to the one that killed Savva, police told the court, adding they had evidence that the suspect had approached at least two people for explosives before the attack.
The chief game warden died after a remote controlled device exploded underneath the seat of his Pajero jeep.
The bomb went off as Savva was driving home down Makarios III avenue in Limassol during rush hour, just minutes after he had dropped his two children off to school.
An investigating officer told the Limassol court yesterday that the police had eye-witness evidence placing the suspect at the scene of the blast, passing the children’s school minutes earlier and near the victim’s Limassol home as he prepared to set off on his fatal journey.
The court heard that police were also following a line of inquiry that Spyrou was seeking revenge for the death of his cousin, who was killed by special game wardens on November 15.
Marinos Spyrou, 25, was shot dead by game wardens while he was hunting in a prohibited area near Kantou, Limassol. Two people have been charged in connection with the shooting.
Police chief Andreas Angelides added his weight to the suspicion, saying yesterday he believed the motives behind the killing were “revenge, anger and hatred”.
“When such cold-blooded crimes are committed… it is something terrifying, something that touches the lives of every citizen more than anything else,” Angelides told a news conference yesterday.
Other leads allegedly connecting the suspect to the attack, include the fact that Savva had given evidence against drug dealers after uncovering cannabis plantations, and against poachers selling protected game.
Monday’s bomb blast sparked widespread condemnation, prompting demonstrations on the streets of Limassol by public employees and residents calling for greater police protection.
Public service union Pasydy is apparently considering offering a £100,000 reward to anybody providing evidence leading to the conviction of those responsible for Savva’s death.
Savva was buried in Limassol yesterday.
