THE CHIEF of Police has launched an investigation into allegations that the Cyprus Drug Squad YKAN seriously bungled a major drug sting operation last week and managed to lose seven kilos of cannabis in another operation back in July.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said that the chief of police Michalis Papageorgiou received a preliminary report into the most recent allegations yesterday and that the incident was “probably a failed sting operation”.
According to reports, the drug enforcement agency used the help of a Syrian ex-convict to bring in 12 kilos of cannabis into the country under the protection of YKAN. The drugs were paid for by YKAN and the Syrian, who had purchased the drugs in Holland, was instructed to find a Cypriot buyer.
The buy was to take place at an Aradippou gas station on September 10 under close surveillance of the drug squad. The alleged buyer took the drugs from the Syrian and put them in the trunk of his white BMW. As soon as he spotted the police he got in his car and drove through the police barrier, smashing two police cars and injuring two police officers.
The police later tracked down the owner of the car and arrested an 18-year-old from Nicosia but it was later proved that the teenager had an airtight alibi at the time of the incident. The police then proceeded to arrest the father of the 18-year-old who said he had no knowledge of the event and that the damage to the car was because someone had crashed into his car while it was parked.
The police found no trace of the drugs and were forced to release the man without charge.
Further questions were raised by as to whether this case was kept silent purposely with contradictions arising early on between the Attorney-general Petros Clerides and Katsounotos. Clerides stated that he had no knowledge of the incident while Katsounotos claimed that the Attorney-general is always informed about these types of controlled drug deliveries.
In a later interview, however, Katsounotos claimed that the operation was not actually a controlled drug delivery and that is why the district attorney was not informed.
Asked why the incident was not released to the media, Katsounotos commented that the incident was filed as a traffic accident and accidents are not usually released to the media although he admitted that the sting operation preceded the “accident”.
An earlier failed operation allegedly occurred on July 30 when, after a tip off, the drugs squad arrived at a weighing station on the Paphos Limassol highway. There they found eight kilos of marijuana in a bag. The police then proceeded to set up a sting operation to arrest the person who picked up the drugs.
A young man arrived at the station at around 8:30 pm and started to load the drugs into a jeep.
Although there was only one escape route, and the suspect’s car was a 20-year-old jeep the police failed to intercept the suspect, and he managed to flee the scene, dropping one kilo of marijuana in the chase. The police arrived at the suspect’s house later where no drugs were found. Under interrogation the suspect admitted to being at the scene but claimed that he only picked up one kilo of marijuana and that he had later dropped it off at a bus stop. The remaining seven kilos have still not been recovered.
Katsounotos said that the chief of police is also reviewing this earlier case to see if the reports, which were printed by newspaper Politis, were indeed substantiated.
