Jailed for trafficking cannabis

A 26-YEAR-OLD Dutch woman was jailed for 12 years on Thursday after she was found guilty of trafficking close to 14 kilograms of cannabis.

Alexandra Montroos, was arrested at Larnaca airport on April 11 after her arrival from Bucharest.

The defendant’s behaviour drew the attention of police officers who intercepted her after she picked up her luggage.

When asked to open the suitcase, she claimed she did not have the keys.

Customs officers broke the lock and found 14 air-sealed packages, which were later found to contain 13.7 kilograms of cannabis.

The woman said she carried the drugs from Amsterdam to Bucharest and then Larnaca.

She said she got the drugs from someone she knows and was going to receive €7,000 to bring them to Cyprus – the 26-year-old got €1,000 as down payment and was meant to receive the rest upon delivery.

The woman said she knew the suitcase contained good quality cannabis and she was told that a taxi would be waiting to take her to the delivery location.

Presiding Jugde Nicos Sandis stressed the need for deterring penalties and to protect society.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.