Man caught driving under influence of drugs, alcohol (updated)

Man caught driving under influence of drugs, alcohol (updated)

A driver whose vehicle overturned in Protaras after he lost control was found to have been driving nine times over the legal limit, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Friday.

It said the 30-year-old Larnaca resident also tested positive for drugs.

Famagusta police spokesman Steve Theodoulou told the news agency that at around 6.20 am on Thursday, a 30-year-old driver had lost control of his car on Protaras – Cape Greco Avenue. The car overturned and was immobilised off the road.

The driver was not injured, but the car sustained damage. Police officers who responded to the accident became suspicious that the man was driving under the influence of drugs and carried out a test, the initial result coming back positive.

He was also tested for alcohol with a reading of 93 mg, ten times the legal limit of 9 mg, Theodoulou added. A saliva test was sent to the lab for conclusive drug testing.

The man appeared before Famagusta district court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to drunk driving. The court fined him €750 and slapped five penalty points on his driver’s licence.

As regards the offence of driving under the influence of drugs, this will submitted in court on completion of the lab tests, Theodoulou added.