Customs intercept narcotics hidden in cereal boxes

A total of ten kilograms of cannabis hidden in cereal and biscuit boxes have been found and intercepted by customs officers at Larnaca airport so far this month, with five arrests made.

On two separate occasions, boxes sent to Cyprus from Canada declared as either “clothing” or “gifts” were selected for inspection by customs officers due to their similarity to a previous case which saw a man arrested in Paphos last month.

Customs officers said seven cereal boxes were found in the inspection of the first two packages, from which “a strange smell was emanating”.

The cereal boxes contained a total of 12 airtight packages of dry cannabis material weighing 2.6 kilograms, while the third package contained boxes of biscuits of tea in which six airtight packages of dry cannabis weighing 2.6 kilograms was found.

As a result, the packages and their contents were seized by the customs department and handed to the police for further investigations.

Four people in the Famagusta district and one in the Nicosia district were arrested after presenting themselves to their local post offices to take receipt of the packages.