6 British tourists remanded as drugs suspects

By Charlie Charalambous

SIX BRITISH tourists were yesterday remanded in custody on suspicion of dealing in drugs following a police raid on their Ayia Napa holiday flat.

The six tourists, all from Hackney in east London, were remanded for eight days by a Larnaca court. They have been named as Geoffrey Girling, 26, Martin Parish, 25, Paul Cunningham, 26, Martin Girling, 23, Joseph Xenophontos, 24, and Jonathan Wisbey, 24.

They face charges of importing, possessing, and supplying drugs.

Famagusta drug squad said it was now in contact with British police to discover whether the suspects were supplied by a major narcotics ring or had previous criminal records.

Investigating officer Daniel Muller told the court that the tourists had been arrested in a 1.30am raid on their apartment, following a tip-off.

Drug squad officers found 16 grammes of cannabis in the flat as well as 10 grammes of cocaine, 13 ecstasy tablets and five syringes with traces of heroin, Muller said.

The drugs had been found hidden in a packet of biscuits, items of clothing and kitchen drawers, among other places.

Muller quoted the tourists as saying “they had no idea” when asked about the drug find.

When Wisbey returned at 6.30am, a body search uncovered a small amount of cannabis and cocaine, police said.

Famagusta drug squad said it had received information which implicated Geoffrey Girling in selling drugs to other tourists in Ayia Napa.

During yesterday’s remand hearing, the tourists said they had come to Cyprus for a two-week holiday and the drugs were for their personal use only.

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