POLICE issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday against a 44-year-old foreign national, in connection with the 156 kilos of cocaine that was found last week in two generators stored in a bonded warehouse near Limassol port.
According to police spokesman Andreas Angelides, depending on the evidence gathered, they will proceed with issuing either a European or an International arrest warrant against the 44-year-old man.
Another 44-year-old, the director of the company which imported the electrical generators and commissioned the warehouse in which they were stored, was arrested on Sunday and is currently under an eight-day remand. The man, who was abroad and was arrested upon his arrival at the airport, claims he is innocent and implicated a Russian partner of his.
According to police, the arrested suspect who lives abroad, occasionally coming to Cyprus as his business is based here, named a Russian lawyer as being a partner in the importation of the generators. He said he had suspicions about the cargo as the Russian had mentioned being threatened by the senders, and because the specific generators stored in the warehouse would not work in this part of the world without modifications. He told police he had suspected they may have contained drugs.
Last week, authorities found 142 packages with 156 kilos of the drug hidden in secret compartments inside the fuel tanks of the two generators.
Investigations so far point to the generators having been loaded in two shipments from Chile, which passed through Dutch and German ports before arriving in Cyprus.
Angelides said that this is the largest ever quantity of cocaine seized and that the last three years a significant increase has been recorded as regards confiscations of drugs.
In 2012, Angelides said, seven kilos of cocaine were confiscated, three kilos in 2013, 31 kilos in 2014, and 106 kilos in 2015. As for this year, including the 156 kilos, the quantity of cocaine confiscated reached 296 kilos in total.
“It is the first time that such a quantity has been confiscated,” Angelides said.
As regards the quantities of cannabis confiscated over the last years, according to data Angelides provided, the biggest quantity seized was 225 kilos in 2015, while this year 86 kilos have been seized so far. In 2012 and 2013, police confiscated 100 and 99 kilos of cannabis, respectively, while in 2014, the amount seized reached 202 kilos.
Likewise, confiscation of cannabis plants soared last year. From around 400 plants seized each year in 2012 and 2013, the number rose to 487 in 2014 and skyrocketed to more than 2,810 in 2015. So far this year, 257 cannabis plants have been confiscated.
This is due to the targeted efforts of the drug squad (YKAN), Angelides said.
“In recent years the drug squad has proceeded with targeted and methodically and without fanfare, with two objectives: the solving of cases and the arrest of drug dealers,” he said.
Following the latest bust, Angelides said, “it seems that there is good cooperation with agencies of foreign countries, which is of particular importance as regards drugs, which is a global phenomenon and is troubling many countries.”
As regards the destruction of seized quantities, Angelides said that depending on the substances, there are specific procedures. In some of the processes, YKAN takes charge and in others the health ministry is also involved, he said, as some types of drugs may be used for pharmaceutical purposes.
In other cases, he said, following court rulings and after the case is closed, the quantities seized are destroyed.
