Two Greek Cypriot teenagers are in police custody in the north pending their court appearance after they were found with almost half a kilo of cannabis in their possession, the bicommunal technical committee on crime confirmed to the Cyprus Mail on Saturday.

The arrests concern a 17-year-old boy who was reported by his family as missing from his Nicosia home and a 19-year-old teen who were detained by Turkish Cypriot authorities on Thursday at Pergamos.

According to the bicommunal committee, the two crossed to the north to meet with a supposed drug dealer who supplied them with 390 grammes of cannabis. He appears to have been working with the Turkish Cypriot authorities as officers were at the scene of the meeting, which was within a military zone.

The teens are facing three charges concerning illegal entry into a military zone, illegal drug possession and trafficking.

They will remain in custody pending their trial in a military court next week.

There is a “real risk” that they might be facing imprisonment, the bicommunal committee official said, but added that the teens have two arguments in mitigation.

Firstly, the Turkish Cypriot lawyers assigned by their families can argue that this was their first offence and they are very young with one of them being underage.

Secondly, there is the impact of imprisonment on their future, which is often used as a strong argument in case law for similar cases.

Greek Cypriot police have not commented on the case, but simply issued an announcement stating the missing teen had been found on Friday.

The bicommunal technical committee on crime was established in 2008 to collaborate with the United Nations and mediate between the authorities of the two communities to investigate crime cases.