Suspected drug trafficker to be extradited to Greece

A 63-year-old Limassol resident was arrested on Friday on a European warrant in connection with a drugs trafficking case involving about six tonnes of cannabis intercepted in Greece last year.

The man was arrested at around 9am while he was preparing to travel abroad from Larnaca airport.

During passport control, officers saw that he had an outstanding European warrant for his arrest that was issued by Greece in connection with some six tonnes of processed cannabis worth €70m discovered by authorities on a tugboat sailing south of Crete in December last year.

The boat had sailed from Cyprus to Syria and was on its way to Malta when it was raided by Greek commandos.

The man appeared before the Larnaca district court where he objected to being extradited to Greece. He will remain in custody until October 18 when his extradition process is scheduled to start.

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.