Limassol drug bust

THREE MEN have been remanded in connection with the discovery of two kilos of cannabis, which arrived from Lebanon through a private air express transport company, police said yesterday.

The arrests of the men, aged 24, 25 and 32, were made as a result of the co-operation of the Drug Prevention Unit (YKAN) with Lebanese authorities.

According to police, YKAN received information that a large quantity of cannabis was to be found inside a parcel in Lebanon that had been given to an express parcel transport company to be delivered to Cyprus. Seven kilos of cannabis were reportedly hidden in backgammon boxes, with intended recipients in Limassol.

Police tracked down the parcels in Lebanon and allowed the private company to deliver two kilos of the total quantity, in order to track down the parcel’s recipients. The parcel was sent to Cyprus via Larnaca Airport, while police placed the company’s Limassol office under constant surveillance.

On Wednesday, the parcel arrived in Limassol and the three suspects went to collect it. One of the men went inside the company’s office while the other two waited in the car. At that point police officers intervened and arrested the suspect. Upon seeing this, the other two suspects tried to flee, but were chased by police and finally stopped.

Two of the suspects are Lebanese-Canadians, while the third is a Lebanese man residing in Limassol. The latter’s Limassol residence was searched by police, who confiscated five mobile phones, SIM cards and the amount of €2,500 in cash.

All three suspects appeared before Limassol District Court yesterday, which issued an eight-day remand. Meanwhile, investigations continue as police believe the three suspects were middlemen who would deliver the cannabis to another recipient.

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