Three remanded for Tseri robbery

THREE men arrested in connection with an armed bank robbery were yesterday remanded in custody by the Nicosia district court.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the morning armed robbery of a cooperative bank at Tseri, outside Nicosia.
Two masked men armed with a double-barrelled shotgun threatened the teller and made off with around €15,000.
The robbers fled the scene in a white Chevrolet pick-up with tinted windows driven by a third person, the court heard.
The vehicle, which had been stolen from Larnaca airport late last month was later found burning near the Tseri industrial estate.
The court heard that a police officer saw a car with three passengers near the scene and recognised the driver being one of the suspects.
Officers reviewing the footage taken from the security cameras recognised the three suspects because they knew them well from previous cases, the court heard.
On Wednesday afternoon, police officers spotted a car parked in a petrol station whose driver drove off when he noticed the police.
The car was intercepted at the Dhali industrial estate. The driver was the same man driving the getaway vehicle, police said.
Inside the car officers found a number of shotgun cartridges and three pepper sprays.
The suspect’s wallet was blackened, possibly because of fire but the man could not give “logical and satisfying” explanation.
Police stressed that the suspect was wearing oversized clothes while a pair of trainers found in the vehicle look like the ones worn by the robber holding the shotgun.
The second and third suspects were arrested later Tuesday.
Flammable fluid was found in the second suspect’s car, police said.
Two of the suspects were remanded in custody for four days while the third got two days.

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