Giant cannabis plantation found in the woods

LIMASSOL police yesterday uprooted the second biggest cannabis plantation ever found on the island, with 1,185 plants of various sizes.

Two suspects were remanded in custody for eight days on suspicion of cultivation, possession and trafficking of drugs as well as conspiracy to commit felony.

Marios Kyprianou, 36, and 34-year-old Yiannakis Demetriou were caught red-handed while tending to their plants in a steep forested area between the villages of Arkounta and Dierona.

Drug squad officers, who had been tipped off about the cannabis ‘forest’ on Thursday, placed the area under surveillance on Sunday evening.

The two suspects arrived on the scene at around 10pm and started watering the plants, which measured from 20 centimetres to 1.50 metres tall.

They were ambushed by the officers, one of whom was injured during the arrest.

Drug squad chief Michalakis Papageorghiou said the plantation was the second biggest ever discovered on the island.

The biggest one was found in 1985, again in the Limassol district.

With first light, officers uprooted the plants and seized fertiliser, the watering system and other equipment as evidence.

Police said the two had allegedly admitted to cultivating the plants in order to sell the drugs and solve their financial problems.

The two are being treated as suspected dealers, and police were yesterday searching for any potential collaborators or buyers.

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