By Tom Cleaver

Turkish Cypriot police announced on Wednesday that they had seized 200 kilogrammes of meat from a vehicle attempting to cross into the north at the Astromeritis crossing point.

The vehicle, driven by a 32-year-old man, was stopped around 9pm on Tuesday. The man was arrested and an investigation into the matter is ongoing.

The subject of meat has been a hot topic in the north all year, with farmers having spent a week protesting outside ‘government’ buildings at the end of May against plans to import meat from abroad with the aim of driving down prices.

Meat is markedly more expensive in the north than in the Republic, despite lower wages.

Because of this, numerous individuals have been caught by police on both sides of the island attempting to smuggle cheaper meat into the north, leading to a large number of arrests and fines.

The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel had expressed concern that Turkish Cypriots were buying “meat of unknown origin from southern Cyprus”, and that instead, the north would begin importing meat which complies with “EU standards”.

Currently, the Green Line regulation prohibits the movement of animals and animal products from one side of Cyprus to the other.