SQUADDIES had yet another run-in with Cypriot police in the early hours yesterday, this time because of suspected drug possession.
No less than five soldiers from the British Bases at Dhekelia were involved in an incident around midnight at an area near Ayia Napa harbour.
The area had been under surveillance by police as a drug trafficking hotspot.
Drug Squad (YKAN) members noticed the car the soldiers were in at the scene.
The car stopped, a soldier got out, picked up something from behind a rock and got back in the car.
YKAN then followed the vehicle and motioned the driver to stop.
The driver did so, but once two policemen tried to approach the vehicle, the driver tried to escape by driving away.
An YKAN officer then fired two warning shots into the air before a car chase ensued.
The chase stopped when the soldiers’ car crashed into an electricity authority pole.
All five soldiers then tried to escape on foot: two were caught on the spot while the other three jumped into the sea, only to hand themselves over to police later.
After searching the car, police found no drugs, though it is possible that these were disposed of during the attempted escape.
“Given that it was dark and that three of them jumped into the sea, anything is possible,” said Famagusta’s Deputy Police Director Giannos Kapnoullas.
The driver had four charges levied against him.
These were: failure to obey police instructions, reckless driving, causing an accident, and causing a public disturbance.
The other four passengers have not been charged with anything.
All five were then released into the custody of the British military police.
“The men are new to Cyprus, part of the battalion which is to replace the outgoing one at Dhekelia,” SBA spokesman Captain Nick Ulvert told the Mail last night.
“Therefore it appears to be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
“The men were unaccustomed to the way the Cypriot police operates and, as a result, they panicked.
“Needless to say, we take the charges against the driver very, very seriously.
“He will be tried at a court of the Republic of Cyprus”, Ulvert concluded.
