Three people from Paphos were arrested on Thursday after allegedly attempting to carry out a form of vigilante justice against four minors who had previously been arrested in relation with the theft of a car.

Police said the trio arrived at the house of one of the minors at around 7.40pm on Wednesday, ordering both the child in question and his 52-year-old father to get into their car and show them the homes of the three other minors who were arrested.

The child and his father then reportedly got into the car and were driven around Paphos, while the car’s driver threatened them and demanded they pay him €10,000, while also saying that if they told the police what had happened, he would “do bad things” to them.

The minor’s father did tell the police, and three people, aged 48, 29 and 23, were arrested on Thursday.

They appeared in court on Friday and were charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, before being remanded in custody for five days.

The four minors had been arrested and released last week for the theft, and the case was to be brought before the Attorney General for further handling.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.