Four held after cocaine bust

FOUR men were yesterday remanded in custody in connection with a cocaine bust.

The Larnaca district court remanded two of the men, aged 62 and 32, for eight days custody and the other two, aged 32 and 43, for six. All four are accused of conspiring to commit a felony and the illegal possession of drugs with the intent to supply.

The story unfolded on Monday, when the 62-year-old, a Greek national with permanent residency in South Africa, arrived at Larnaca airport. Police had information the suspect would be importing drugs and placed him under surveillance. Shortly afterwards, investigators secured a warrant to search the place where he was staying, where they found about a kilo of cocaine in his luggage.

During questioning, the suspect allegedly confessed to the offence.

Drug Squad officers later secured evidence against a 32-year-old man from Dhali as the alleged recipient of the drugs and arrested him. Further investigations revealed a second Dhali man, aged 32, and a 43-year-old Nicosia man were also involved. A search of their homes uncovered two weighing scales with traces of drugs.