Second arrest after discovery of 132kg of cannabis at port

Police have made a second arrest in connection with the discovery of 132 kilos of cannabis in a container at Limassol port earlier this month.

They said the arrest of a 61-year-old man was made on Thursday as part of their investigation into what police had earlier described as a major blow against drug traffickers. The man appeared before Limassol district court on Friday which remanded him in police custody for eight days.

The container was unloaded at Limassol port from a ship that docked on March 6 and according to documents, contained 915 sacks of animal feed.

On March 8, the container was transported to a storage area at the port where, after obtaining a search warrant and in cooperation with customs, police had opened and searched it. They found 24 palettes with a number of sacks of animal feed. Hidden in two of the palettes were 132 airtight nylon packages with about 132 kilos of cannabis.

The cannabis was confiscated, and police arrested a 38-year-old man who has been convicted and previously jailed for a similar case.

Limassol’s drug squad (Ykan) chief Michalis Katsounotos had told reporters at the time that the feed had been completely removed in some packages which were then filled with drugs, while others contained both animal feed and cannabis.

The bust is considered a “major blow” against drug traffickers, who would have channelled the 132 kilos of cannabis into the Cypriot market, the officer said.