Latest drug death adds to rising toll

THE death of a 22-year-old man in Limassol from a heroine overdose is the latest addition to a rising drug-related death toll in the seaside town, raising serious questions on the causes and management of the situation.

The young man, of Georgian-Greek origin, was found in a comatose state in a car park in Yermasogia’s tourist area on Saturday night. He had been missing since last Friday and his family had contacted the police in an effort to discover his whereabouts. He was immediately taken to Limassol Hospital, but died there of a heart attack. The autopsy, undertaken by medical coroner Eleni Antoniou, revealed the necrosis of his right leg, caused by the intake of toxic substances.

“Drug-related problems in Limassol are very serious and keep getting worse,” said Michalakis Papaelyssaiou, Senior Officer at Limassol Police’s Drug Unit. “We believe the rise in drug use is associated with the easier inflow of drugs into Cyprus from Asia, due to the opening up of the checkpoints with the occupied part of Cyprus,” he added.
“We have noticed that a high percentage of heroine-use cases involve people of the Georgian-Greek community of Limassol, but we do not have specific statistics in our hands and do not wish to offend any community. Unfortunately, the problem is more general and involves Cypriots of all communities, as well as foreigners,” Papaelyssaiou said.

Limassol District Police has been intensifying prevention measures, as well as the promotion of counselling and support services. The Drug Unit’s social worker, in partnership with the Therapy Unit at the old Limassol hospital, offer psychological support to drug users.

Two Limassol-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs),Tolmi and Odysseas, offer free support group sessions to help drug-users combat addiction. Zoe Kakouratou of Tolmi confirmed yesterdat that the NGO had been dealing with a rising number of cases in the past years.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.