Oxygen cylinders have been found to be the new way of smuggling drugs into the country after drugs squad YKAN found three cylinders full of drugs in Aradippou and arrested four people on Sunday said to be at the centre of importing and distributing drugs on the island.
“This empowers us and together we can hit the drug dealers,” said YKAN chief, Gavriel Gavriel yesterday adding that oxygen cylinders as a place to store drugs was a first for Cyprus.
In total six and a half kilos of cannabis, half a kilo of cannabis resin and some ecstasy pills were found, according to Gavriel. Since the operation began last week three Greek Cypriot men aged 33, 28 and 31 along with a 25-year-old Spanish woman were arrested.
YKAN received a tip off that some of the people they had under surveillance were moving oxygen cylinders from a house and finding this suspicious they followed up on it to find several small bags used to store drugs. Further information led them to a warehouse owned by one of the men who was arrested and to the oxygen cylinders. They also found two weighing scales, gloves and other paraphernalia used to make drugs.
According to Gavriel, the initial tip off was last week. Last Wednesday they saw someone delivering a suitcase via motorcycle to a second person in an open area in Aradippou.
YKAN interrupted them seizing the suitcase as it had a strong smell of drugs about it. The 33-year-old who was arrested was found with two grams of cannabis on him. In the meantime the 28-year-old with a passenger who was the 31-year-old, was approaching in a car, saw what was happening and tried to escape. While doing so he injured an YKAN officer in the leg and also damaged a patrol car.
The 28-year-old was arrested during the chase while the passenger got away only to be arrested the following day. YKAN also found two pieces of luggage at the 28-year-old’s sister’s house that was suspected to be full of cannabis.
In the suitcase they found information that led them to the 25-year-old Spanish woman.
“I congratulate my colleagues who managed by seeking out information, evaluating it correctly and using it, to arrest the four that make up a major artery of importing and distributing drugs in Cyprus,” said Gavriel.
“The methods used by drug dealers are ever changing to evade or try and evade the grip of the law,” he added.
