Two held for trafficking Venezuelan cocaine to Lebanon

A LEBANESE man and a Syrian were remanded yesterday on suspicion of trafficking large quantities of cocaine from Venezuela through Cyprus to Lebanon.

Yiam Abou Chaaya, from Lebanon, and Manual Ayrout, from Syria, were arrested on September 24 after police said they tried to take £200,000 worth of foreign currency out of the Island without declaring it. Police said they found 500,000 German Marks, 150,000 Swiss Franks and 11,000 Dutch Guilders in the two men’s suitcases as they tried to board a flight to Zurich at Larnaca airport.

After the two men were remanded, police received a communiqué from Interpol informing them that Chaaya and Ayrout, who both hold Venezuelan passports, were suspected big-time cocaine smugglers. Interpol said they believed the two men had moved large quantities of the hard drug through Cyprus between September 10 and 24.

Chaaya is wanted for drug smuggling offenses in Lebanon and had therefore begun operating out of Cyprus, Interpol told police.

Chaaya and Ayrout were brought up before Larnaca District Court yesterday.

They were convicted for illegal export of foreign currency and fined £1,000 each and were also remanded for three days on suspicion of trafficking cocaine.

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