‘Biggest hoard’ of firecrackers, lucky there were no victims (update)

THE hoard of illegal firecrackers and other explosive items discovered in a 32-year old’s apartment on Wednesday is the biggest ever seized, Limassol police spokesman Ioannis Soteriades said on Thursday, adding that the final count is over 169,500.

Police also found 16 kilos of gunpowder, fireworks, smoke bombs and 350 metres of quick-burn fuses, and is investigating if the suspect had sold any of the dangerous firecrackers. The authorities will move the haul to a safe location in Nicosia until a trial gets underway.

It is fortunate that the stash did not blow up, that could have caused extensive damage to nearby homes and possibly even hurt innocent neighbours.

The suspect, who was seen leaving the building in Kato Polemidia which was under observation by police after a tip-off, was issued with a six-day remand on Thursday.

Reports suggested that he admitted smuggling a large number of the items from the occupied areas through Pyla.

Police sealed off the building on Wednesday night for safety reasons and started counting the confiscated explosives and firecrackers early on Thursday.

Starting from March, police launched a campaign to clamp down on the sale of firecrackers leading up to Easter.

To prevent injuries, police are organising lectures in schools, involving community police and its bomb squad, in a bid to highlight the problem.

On Wednesday, an 18-year-old army conscript was injured while trying to set off an improvised explosive device, and was rushed to the Famagusta General hospital in Paralimni for surgery as the accident seriously injured his hand.

Two weeks ago, two Limassol youths, aged 21 and 19, lost their hands after a firecracker they were making blew up. The 21-year-old had his left hand amputated, while the 19-year-old suffered partial amputation of his left hand, a burn in his left eye and right hand, and nose injury.