A HEAVILY pregnant woman has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling 1.6 kilos of hashish into the country.
The Romanian national, who is seven-months pregnant and married to a Cypriot, was followed by Drug Squad (YKAN) officers to a Larnaca Post Office, where she took receipt of a package sent from India.
The officers immediately asked her to open it and two further packages were located inside. One contained a pair of old sports shoes and several books, while the other contained 25 bars of hashish, with a total weight of 1,600 grams.
The woman denied any involvement and said she had no idea that the drugs were inside the package.
Nevertheless, she was arrested, along with her husband.
Commenting, YKAN has said that to the best of their knowledge, this is the first time that drugs have been smuggled into Cyprus from India.
YKAN Director Charalambos Ioannou said that he has noticed an increase in cases of people using the postal services to traffic illegal drugs.
Yesterday, a Cypriot and two Bulgarians were remanded in custody for eight days on heroin charges.
They are believed to be part of a drug trafficking gang in the north which operates in the free areas.
The two Bulgarians, who arrived at Tymbou airport on Thursday, took a taxi and crossed into the Republic with the class-A narcotics in their possession.
They went to a restaurant situated on the capital’s Eleftheria Square, before checking into a local hotel.
They were then met by a Greek Cypriot, who took delivery of two bags.
He was later stopped by YKAN officers, who discovered 800 grams of heroin hidden in the soles of two pairs of sports shoes.
Commenting on the bust, Ioannou described it as, “a great success in these difficult times.”
On Thursday, two Dutch women aged 22 and 23 and 63-year-old Cypriot Savvas Koupatos were each sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Limassol Criminal Court after being found guilty of drugs charges.
The sentences passed down are among the toughest seen in recent years for drug trafficking.
Fifteen kilos of cannabis was smuggled into the country from Holland on February 29 by the two women, who were meant to deliver it to Koupatos.
The cannabis had been treated with a liquid so as to escape detection from airport authorities.
Nonetheless, the Drug Squad was tipped off to a large quantity of drugs which was about to be brought to Cyprus.
YKAN members caught the women red handed while they were handing over the cannabis-filled luggage to Koupatos, who had been waiting for them outside a Limassol hotel.
The women claimed that they were each paid €2,500 to bring the suitcases to Cyprus, but pleaded ignorance as to their contents.
