Authorities seize thousands of canisters thought to contain ‘laughing gas’

Authorities have seized thousands of canisters suspected of containing laughing gas stored in a company warehouse in the district of Famagusta, it was announced on Thursday.

Police said they seized 38,400 canisters believed to be containing nitrous oxide during a 1pm raid assisted by customs officers.

A written statement said the canisters will be examined to confirm their content.

They had been stored in 32 boxes stored in the warehouse of a company belonging to a 48-year-old man.

Nitrous oxide is used in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects. Inhaling it has euphoric effects, a property that led to its recreational use as a dissociative anaesthetic.

But it can also cause dangerous side effects, including acute respiratory failure and problems to the circulatory system. Some incidents of neurological damage have been attribute to abuse of the gas.