Arson accused appear in court

Two accused arsonists, arrested following a spate of suspicious fires in South Auckland, have appeared in court.

A 21-year-old man was arrested and charged with 15 counts of arson and one count of burglary earlier this month.

When he first appeared in the Papakura District Court he was granted interim name suppression.

A second man, a 21-year-old farm hand, has also been charged as a co-accused.

He appeared in the Papakura District Court on May 7, also charged with 15 counts of arson and one charge of burglary.

Yesterday, in the Papakura District Court, the pair appeared briefly again before Judge Gregory Hikaka.

They had their name suppression continued until a future court appearance next month. The first man arrested was remanded in custody, while the second was remanded on bail.

The occupation of the first man is also suppressed, Judge Hikaka receiving several letters in support of a suppression order yesterday.

Both men have yet to enter a plea.

Several properties were targeted in the arson attacks throughout the wider Papakura and Pukekohe area last month, including two schools, as police hunted an unidentified firebug or bugs.

Show homes and vacant houses being built were also set alight, including a Pukekohe home under construction.

The fires are understood to have caused damage worth at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions.

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