Man arrested after arson attack on field

A FATHER of five from Lympia village in Nicosia has been remanded by police on suspicion of setting fire to a field and causing around £35,000 worth of damage.

Yesterday a Nicosia Court remanded George Olympiou, 45, in police custody for eight days after a witness saw him driving away from the scene of the blaze in the Platsa area of Lympia.
Police are investigating a single case of arson against the suspect.

According to CID Investigator Constantinos Constantinides, the blaze swept through the field of George Kappas, destroying 850 bails of hay and causing £34,000 worth of damage.
“On Thursday night and at around 11.15pm, a fire broke out at the farm of the suspect”, said the investigator. “The scene was closed off by police and firemen soon put out the fire. Investigations then began straight away and it was quickly established that we were dealing with an arson attack”.

A statement was then taken from Kappas who immediately pointed his suspicions to Avraam Olympiou and his son George.

“They were the only two people that he had professional differences with. According to the plaintiff, he is currently fighting a lawsuit against them over land.”
Police eventually moved in and arrested the suspect after a woman working in a nearby field told investigators she saw a white van with black writing on the side driving away from the scene just minutes after the field caught fire.

“Further investigations revealed that the suspect had a van matching the exact description the witness had made in her statement”, added the investigator.
Olympiou was arrested at 7.30am yesterday morning and has so far denied any involvement in the fire attack.

Police are set to take down a further 30 to 40 statements in the case, while forensics experts will examine the tyre tracks found at the scene to see if they match the wheels of the suspect’s van.
Despite objections from the defence with regards to the duration of the remand period, Judge Yiota Kyriakidou said that there appeared to be reasonable suspicion linking the suspect to the crime.

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