Explosives suspects released

THREE suspects arrested on Thursday in connection with the theft of a large amount of explosives from an army depot were yesterday released pending further investigation.

The two men, aged 29 and 32, and a 26-year-old woman, all from Limassol, were not brought before court pending the completion of ongoing forensic tests related to the theft of 172 kilos of plastic explosives from Palodia.

The three are linked to a 31-year-old suspect currently in custody for the same case.

Since the July 21 theft, from the depot, police have recovered 113 sticks of the PG2 explosives from a total of 200 stolen.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said that authorities “know every last detail about the perpetrators and how the theft was carried out.

“Naturally, we need the hard evidence to prove it,” he added, hinting that the investigation was nearing its conclusion.

“We hope that in the end we shall recover all of the explosives stolen,” said Louca.

Authorities believe a “very small” quantity of the ordnance has made its way into the hands of the underworld, he said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.