A man has been arrested and remanded in custody for seven days in the north after police found drugs and related paraphernalia, which had been smuggled from the Republic, in his house.

Turkish Cypriot police searched the home of Darlington Ablaba Alaku, aged 28, in Kioneli and found 600 grams of synthetic cannabinoid, 10 MDMA pills, precision scales, €20, and 28,960TL (€967).

The north’s chief prosecutor Fezile Kesat said Alaku’s home was raided on Wednesday, and he was caught “red handed”.

She added that he admitted to smuggling the drugs from the Republic, and that he had previously smuggled and sold more drugs earlier in the month.