Four men are due to appear in court next month charged with possession of drugs following a spate of arrests by the Sovereign Base Areas Police over the Christmas and New Year period.
Police in Akrotiri have revealed 62 arrests were made in total between December and January for ‘various other offences’, including three for the possession of stolen property, 10 for illegal immigration and 18 for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, with some holding small quantities of drugs at the time.
Codenamed ‘Operation Santa Claus’ the crackdown aimed to combat crime in Trachoni and Ypsonas, with a focus on the illegal supply of drugs.
Separate raids in December saw police officers seize 50 ecstasy pills, 50 grams of MDMA, or methamphetamine and a small amount of cannabis, believed to have a combined street value of approximately €2,500.
Of the four men arrested, one was Cypriot, two were from Slovakia, another was from Belarus and all were based in Trachoni.
Superintendent Constandinos Petrou, Akrotiri’s Deputy Divisional Commander, was keen to highlight the importance this operation had on the safety of those living and working within the areas.
He said: “Drugs destroy the foundations of our communities, damaging lives, and their futures.
“The tireless work of law enforcement is vital in combatting this plague, not just through enforcement but by building trust, fostering prevention and restoring hope where despair has taken root.”