The debacle surrounding the case of an attempted murder of a security guard and the arson of four hire cars continued at the Larnaca district court on Tuesday, with one suspect set free after the maximum 24-hour time allowed to hold a suspect timed out.

During the same session, it also came to light that court CCTV footage had made its way onto a private mobile phone belonging to one of the suspects.

The day began with the 29-year-old man who was arrested in September re-appearing in court, with it being alleged that he had telephone contact with another suspect – the 44-year-old man who is currently in prison – prior to the attempted murder.

He had previously been released but was re-arrested this month after footage from the Larnaca court’s CCTV system was found on his phone.

The recordings included footage of other suspects, including the 44-year-old man.

On Monday, they also arrested a 29-year-old female security guard who works at the courthouse, who they believe sent him the video footage.

The security guard appeared in court on Tuesday, but her lawyer, Christoforos Demetriou, argued that the maximum amount of time allowed between arrest and remand had already elapsed before she appeared in court.

Following a half-hour break, the court found that the woman had been arrested at 11.25am on Monday and brought before the court at 11.28am, and that as such, she was free to go.

The 29-year-old male suspect was remanded for eight days.

The attempted murder occurred on August 14, when four cars were set on fire at the premises of a vehicle hire company on the coastal road linking Larnaca and Dhekelia, near Pyla.

Subsequent investigations found that two people had arrived at the premises, poured flammable liquid over the cars, and set them on fire.

While there were no injuries as a result of the incident, a security guard who was on duty at the time reported hearing gunshots.

Multiple arrests have since been made, with the trials of five people set to begin on October 29.