Two arrested over fake cocaine planted by police

SBA Police are investigating a cocaine shipment from Greece to Cyprus after two men under surveillance were arrested while trying to retrieve drugs that turned out to be fake cocaine planted by cops in Athens during a ship container inspection.

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Cyprus Police said Greek law enforcement authorities contacted Nicosia in mid-July after cocaine weighing 17.66 kilos was discovered in 14 packages hidden inside a refrigerated container aboard a ship in Piraeus bound for Limassol the following week.

Reports said there was fruit from Ecuador inside the container, with Greek detectives then touching base with Cypriot law enforcement authorities as well as police on the island’s British Bases in order to set up a scheme under which fake drugs would be delivered under surveillance.

The ship arrived in Limassol on the evening of July 26 where customs officers facilitated the delivery of the container, which was transported the following day to a fruit and vegetable storage facility in the Asomatos area of Akrotiri.

Hours later in the early morning, around 2am, two men aged 40 and 46 approached the container and removed the metal cover to retrieve the drugs, with SBA officers assisted by members of Cyprus’ Drug Squad surprising and arresting the two suspects.

A resident judge within the SBA court system who heard prosecutors in a preliminary hearing ordered the two suspects remanded in custody for two days.

Police in Nicosia declined to comment on whether the original drugs seized by Greek officers were being shipped to Cyprus from Ecuador or another third country.