Men deny were in possession of 96,000 firecrackers

Three men denied all charges on Tuesday after they were arrested for possession of explosive material: about 96,000 firecrackers.

Paphos criminal court was told that the defendants – aged 24, 31 and 34 – were found on March 12 in a rural area of Paphos, near the Tzelefos Venetian bridge, handling the firecrackers.

Police explained that Ykan (the drug squad) received a tip off and subsequently officers arrived at the scene.

They soon spotted the three men handling boxes which contained the firecrackers.

Officers checked a car at the scene – which had been driven there by the 34-year-old – and found ten boxes containing 18,960 firecrackers.

He was also found with €3,000 in cash stored in his waist pack.

The second car, driven there by the other two suspects, contained a further 52 boxes which yielded 77,180 firecrackers.

All three were arrested for possession of explosive materials.