The Larnaca criminal court has sentenced a 35-year-old man to 13 years in prison for importing more than 24 kilogrammes of cannabis into Cyprus last September through Larnaca airport.

The defendant pleaded guilty to possession and transportation of drugs with intent to supply.

The court heard that the man, a UK passport holder, travelled from Britain to Thailand, where he received a bag containing the drugs.

Then, on September 10, he flew from Bahrain to Larnaca.

During a luggage inspection by the customs department and the anti-corruption authority, 44 plastic packages containing 24kg and 568g of cannabis were found.

In court, the defendant said he agreed to transport the drugs to have a debt he owed in the UK written off. He refused to name who gave him the suitcase, citing fear for his family’s safety.

The court cited the increasing number of serious drug cases and the need for deterrent sentences as aggravating factors.

Mitigating factors included the man’s clean criminal record, the fact he is a father of two, and that he was not the mastermind but a member of the trafficking chain.