A 37-YEAR-OLD Iranian man was remanded for eight days by Limassol District Court yesterday in connection with possession of a drug believed to be crystal meth.
His 25-year-old Cypriot partner, who was also arrested, was released pending test results on the drug.
Drugs squad YKAN arrested the pair on Wednesday after stopping a car driven by the Iranian in Limassol. A search revealed 30 grammes of crystal powder and then another two grammes were found in his home.
“YKAN officers stopped the Iranian as he was driving and following a search on his car found 30 grammes of a crystal powder believed to be crystal meth, and a weighing scales,” said YKAN officer, Stelios Sergides, also coordinator of prevention, EU and international cooperation issues.
According to Sergides, the drug, also known as ‘ice’, is considered the ‘poor man’s cocaine.’
The couple admitted to being in possession of the drugs, police said.
“We’re especially worried about this drug because of how powerful and highly addictive it is,” said Sergides.
It systematically destroys the body causing addicts to have behavioural problems, memory loss as well as damaging the heart, he said, adding that it also has an impact on the addict’s physical appearance. It can cause rapid tooth decay and weight loss.
Chrystal meth is usually smoked, but sometimes it is injected or snorted. Its effects are similar to the euphoric feelings caused by cocaine but are longer lasting.
Sergides pointed out that the drug has only become a problem on the island over the last year. “From the contact that we’ve had with drug rehabilitation centres it seems that they now have drug addicts who started off their addiction on crystal meth,” he said.
The drug has been making an appearance since 2002, said Sergides, but in very small quantities.
The Centre for Education on Drugs and Treatment of Drug Addiction, KENTHEA stated recently that they were currently treating 10 crystal meth addicts. They also said that heroin was on the decline, which was confirmed by Sergides, however he clarified that this was unrelated to the increase in crystal meth use.
