Arrest made after apparent sabotage of trees

A 52-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday arrested in connection with the death of 233 trees in Cyprus.

The trees, planted along various roads on the island, have withered over the last 20 days, under conditions that are still being investigated by the police.

The case came to light following a complaint made to the CID at the Police Headquarters by a senior member of the Forestry Department. He said that between the dates June 22 and July 13 unknown persons were piercing holes in the trunks of the trees and placing pesticides or herbicides inside them, causing the trees to die.

Greek handed over in connection to drugs case

A 51-year-old man from Greece was handed over to the Cypriot authorities yesterday, in connection with the Loucas Siderenos case of importing 190kg of cannabis and 12kg of cocaine, offences committed in Greece and Cyprus between the dates March 16 and 27.

The man was arrested by Greek police on May 7, based on a European arrest warrant, and yesterday he was handed in to YKAN (Drug Squad) police officers, who travelled to collect him. He will be taken to Nicosia Criminal court today for trial.

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.