A Greek Cypriot man has been arrested in the north after allegedly having stolen a bicycle in the Republic, taken it to the north, and then traded it for a mobile phone.

The man appeared in court on Tuesday, with police officer Suleyman Gurcak saying that the bicycle was valued at around 3,800TL (€85) and that the man had stolen it alongside a helmet valued at 2,000TL (€45) from Nicosia’s Solomou Square, where it had been parked, at around 5pm on May 8.

Then, Gurcak said, the man had traded the bicycle for a Redmi Note 8 mobile phone, valued at 2,500TL (€56) after having “falsely stated that the bicycle belonged to him”.

Gurcak added that the incident “came to the police’s attention” last Thursday, and that the man had been arrested on Friday while attempting to cross to the north through the Ledra Street crossing point.

The suspect then told the court that “I have children and grandchildren” and that “I did not steal the bike”.

Judge Nuray Necdet ordered that the man be remanded in custody for ten days.