Drug dealer’s home was a drive-through fortress

Police are learning more about the residence of a male suspect in custody, who turned his home into an impenetrable fortress and a drive-through drug retailer.

Following Thursday’s arrest of a 27-year-old Greek Cypriot man in Anthoupoli, and a home search with a police warrant, cops were beginning to understand the full scale of the suspect’s operation.

According to local media, he was essentially running an illegal drug dispenser business out of his basement, where cops found 70 grams of a white powder believed to be cocaine, 68 grams of cannabis, and five marijuana spliffs.

During the raid, cops also found and confiscated €10,134 in cash, some gold jewelry, mobile phones, a computer, a CCTV security system, three currency-counting machines for bills and coins, a precision scale, and communication devices.

The arrest came a week following the death of a Greek national, a 35-year-old male drug addict, whose body was found in an open field next to drug paraphernalia near the suspect’s home.

Police are investigating a number of leads in both cases, including whether the suspect could have been the person who supplied the lethal dose to the victim.

Local reports said the suspect’s home was a fortress surrounded with an extensive security camera network, with cameras placed all around the perimeter and even up on the roof.

Cops broke down wall to gain entry

Anti-drug squad director Stelios Sergides said cops had to break through a window and part of a wall to gain entry, since the suspect had custom security doors installed and would not allow entry even with a search warrant.

“The suspect is known to authorities. He arranged his place of residence in such a way that it looked like a fortress, with the aim of carrying out illegal activities but also to prevent the possibility of police entering the residence to arrest him,” Sergides said.

Local media said law enforcement authorities suspect that the 27-year-old was supplying youth in the area with illegal drugs, as clients would swing by for a quick purchase after being cleared through the suspect’s security apparatus.

Sergides also told reporters that the suspect had attempted to hide evidence just before his arrest by throwing drugs into the fireplace.

Reports said lab tests have been ordered to determine whether a syringe found in the open field next to the body could be linked back to the suspect. Sergides confirmed the possibility that the suspect could face manslaughter charges in connection with last week’s death.