Cops arrest wrong guy in bomb threat case

A man arrested for phoning in a bomb threat has been released, with reports suggesting he was falsely detained after police linked him to a phone number he had used in the past.

Police said a 24-year-old male from Limassol was arrested over the weekend in connection with a prank call on April 30. The phone call was described as a bomb threat and was made directly to an official Emergency Number, with a male voice saying bombs had been placed in vehicles belonging to two individuals in Famagusta district.

Police told Knews that the individual has been released as he was no longer a suspect.

But on Tuesday around noon, a person claiming to be the one who was arrested took to social media accusing the police of “wrongful arrest” after he was detained upon returning from a flight overseas.

According to the man’s statement, he had used a phone number some five years ago and later gave it up, with another consumer later buying that same phone number from the telecommunications provider.

“After a ten hour hassle at the [local] airport they took me to a [local] police station in handcuffs where I gave a statement. They found me innocent after a 24-hour detention,” the user posted on Facebook.

Police, who did not comment on the details of the case and neither confirmed nor denied the story, told Knews there was no information of any other imminent arrest.

“The problem is why do you issue arrest warrants before you can make sure about the user of the SIM card?” the user wrote online.