Long jail terms for cocaine smugglers

Two men were sentenced to 12 and 15 years in jail on Monday for trafficking around 2.5 kilos of cocaine.
Andreas Alexandrou, 41, from Nicosia, was jailed for 12 years while 60-year-old Sotiris Athinis got 15 years, after they were found guilty of importing and possession with intent to supply around 2.5 kilos of cocaine.
Athinis, considered the mastermind, is already doing time for similar offences and he was expected to be released in July 2018, provided he showed good conduct.
He was now looking at an additional 15 years, starting on July 17, 2018.
“There is no reason whatsoever that could objectively justify issuing an order for him to serve the sentence concurrently with the sentence he is already serving at the Central Prison,” the court said.
Alexandrou and Athinis were accused of conspiring with two other men, Greek national Christos Kotsakis, 50, and Renos Zertalis, 49, from Nicosia, to import the drugs between March 1 and April 19, 2014.
Kotsakis imported the drugs from Sao Paolo, Brazil, through Egypt, for €5,000.
He was caught at Larnaca airport with the drugs hidden in a special compartment in his suitcase.
Kotsakis agreed to co-operate with the police and go ahead with the delivery as planned. He delivered the cocaine to Zertalis who was also arrested and subsequently used as a prosecution witness against the other three.
Kotsakis and Zertalis were jailed for nine and 11 years respectively in August 2014.
The court said Athinis’ role was more decisive than Alexandrou’s in the sense that he was “the instigator and mastermind.”

Alexandrou had an executive role in the affair but they both acted “in premeditated, programmed, and co-ordinated manner” the court said.

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