‘Peddlers of death using underage children’

DRUG traffickers use underage youths to carry small quantities of drugs because they are not criminally liable due to their age, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said yesterday.

The minister, who was replying to a reporter’s question about the exploitation of minors by drug traffickers, said “this phenomenon has been observed recently” but warned against blowing it out of proportion.

“Many times these peddlers of death use underage children – under 14s – who are not criminally liable, to be the carriers of small quantities of drugs,” Louca told reporters but added that the practice was not extensive.

Speaking during a lunchtime show on private broadcaster Sigma later, the minister sought to play down the issue suggesting that too much publicity had been given to his earlier comments.

He reiterated however that traffickers often “use minors…many times 13-year-olds… because at this age police cannot arrest or question them. Some (people) exploit these young individuals to traffic small quantities of drugs.”

Asked by the host to disclose the number of incidents, Louca said there had been several.

He said the ministry was looking into lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility. “Not to punish these individuals but to be able to collect information so that we can tackle this scourge,” Louca said.

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