Newsroom
Eight young Africans attempting to cross from the free areas into the occupied territories through a military zone in the Aphania-Ornithi region were detained yesterday, according to reports from the occupied territories. The individuals told the Nicosia district court that their goal was to take advantage of a "work amnesty" they believed was being offered by the self-declared state and intended to remain in the occupied territories.
Turkish Cypriot media reported that the group entered the military area by car. After their arrest, authorities discovered a quantity of a suspected narcotic substance in one of their bags. Police secured a two-day detention order for all suspects to determine the nature of the substance.
The newspaper "Dialog" noted an increase in illegal migration from the Greek side to the occupied territories, attributing it to the ongoing "work amnesty" law, which allows undocumented workers in the self-declared state to obtain residence and work permits.
Additionally, "Havadis" reported that a person was arrested in a police operation in occupied Nicosia for transporting over a kilogram of drugs from the south to the north, marking a shift in the drug trade, which had previously moved in the opposite direction—from the occupied areas to the free areas.
[With information from CNA]
