Indian student gets two years for opioids

An Indian man has been sentenced to two years by a Larnaca court after pleading guilty to importing over 2000 opioid pills back in June 2018.

According to Cyprus News Agency, the 27-year-old Indian national was arrested at Larnaca International Airport on June 5 when anti-drug unit officers discovered a large quantity of prescription drugs which was over 2000 pills.

The man admitted to importing a thousand Clovidol 100SR pills inside a folded pair of jeans and another 1390 pills inside a nylon bag packed in the luggage of a fellow traveler. The state chemist determined that the total of 2390 opioid pills contained Tramadol, an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain.

Both men had traveled from India through Bahrain and arrived at LCA, where officers had already received a tip about the opioids. As soon as the two men picked up their luggage, they were placed under surveillance by airport security and confronted by customs officials just before attempting to exit in inspection area.

The 27-year-old told police he had come to Cyprus in 2017 with his wife and both were studying at a private college in Larnaca. According to media reports, his permit was valid while the immigration status of the other man was not made clear.

The two appeared to be friends and roommates according to statements given to police, while the friend is not believed to have been aware he was transporting illegal drugs, with the 27-year-old telling investigators he himself had placed the drugs inside his friend’s luggage.

The court handed down a two year sentence to the student, after taking into consideration his clean criminal record and the fact that he had been using the drugs for self-medication.

His defence attorney argued for a suspended sentence but the judge said the large quantities of drugs passing through the airports of the Republic of Cyprus, with the possibility of supplying others locally, could not go unpunished and the sentence had to serve as an example to others.

“The fact that the 27-year-old was apprehended at the Larnaca airport with a particularly large quantity of banned opioid substances inevitably is a cause for concern and deep reflection,” the court said.