Authorities send drugs to Russia by mistake after training exercise

Police are launching an investigation after a sample of drugs was sent by accident to Russia during a routine dog training exercise at Larnaca airport.

“A small quantity of drugs was placed on a trolley between suitcases (as part of the exercise) and it seems that it was accidentally taken on an aircraft and it departed abroad,” police spokesman Andreas Angelides said.

The airline was notified of the incident on Thursday as were the Russian authorities who picked up the drugs.

Angelides said this was an isolated case and all police force members involved in the exercise would be required to give a statement

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.