Deadly ‘bonzai’ found in small quantities

By Annette Chrysostomou

The potentially deadly drug ‘bonzai’ has been spotted in the Republic, according to Gabriel Gabriel from the Cyprus Drug Squad.

Bonzai, the street name of phenazepam in Turkey but known elsewhere as bonsai, has been in the spotlight in Turkey recently following a number of deaths linked to its abuse. The Turkish Cypriot press has also expressed concerns after five deaths in eleven months were reportedly caused by the drug.

This synthetic cannabis is an addictive substance which may cause mental disorders, severe hallucinations, violent behaviour and heart attacks.

“It has been detected in very few cases and in small quantities,” Gabriel said on Monday. “These were sent to the state laboratory for analysis. The results showed that this is a new substance with strong hallucinogenic properties.”

“This substance is not yet included in the banned substances under the drugs and psychotropic substances act,” he said. “The law enforcement unit and the state general laboratory have informed the pharmaceutical services and prepared a memo to the minister of health to immediately proceed to ban the substance.”

He said that “bonzai was found primarily in areas adjacent to the ceasefire line”, adding that “this reinforced the suspicion that it is coming from the occupied areas.”

Asked to comment on the reports of the deaths in the Turkish Cypriot press, Gabriel said: “In the free areas we cannot find such cases at present, however, we have increased our measures in dangerous areas.”

“With the banning of the substance I think we can do better,” he concluded.

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.