Brits arrested in drugs crackdown
TWO British men were among foreigners arrested by police narcotics teams over the festive period in a surge of recreational drug arrests across the country.
The swoops began on Christmas Eve in Ozanköy at the home of British journalist Ian Sparks, 52, when he and Melike Gözde Şahin, 27, were allegedly found to have 0.5 grammes and two grammes of cannabis respectively.
Drugs squad officers then visited the Lapta home of Craig Barnett where they allegedly discovered plastic jars filled with cannabis and 29 packets of synthetic cannabis known locally as Bonzai.
The trio appeared at Girne District Court the next day and were remanded into police custody.
Sparks and Şahin were released on 5,000TL bail each following a second court appearance on Wednesday, when their travel documents were confiscated pending trial.
Barnett remained in police custody until a court appearance yesterday when he was remanded to Lefkoşa Central Prison for up to 75 days on charges of cultivating and possessing 506 grammes of cannabis and the purchase and possession of 88.72 grammes of Bonzai.
There were more, unconnected, arrests in Gazimağusa and Lefkoşa on Tuesday when South Cyprus-based university student Lisa Mupanguri was arrested at 2.30pm after allegedly being found to have 28 grammes of cannabis while crossing to the North at Ledra Palace.
Police said Mupanguri claimed to have acted as a courier to pay her rent, earning 50 euros per trip to supply Namibian Matengu Anton on November 30, December 7, 15 and 20.
Anton was later found in possession of half a gramme of cannabis, 350 euros and 250TL and admitted supplying five grammes to Shilao Wesley Mogano who was also arrested, Lefkoşa District Court heard. The three were remanded for two days.
Eleven men, nine of them “thirdcountry” nationals, were also arrested in five separate Gazimağusa raids on Tuesday, following tip-offs to police that day, and appeared in court to be remanded for two days at five different court hearings.
The court heard police had found cannabis planted in plastic bottles in the bedroom wardrobe of university student Enes Kiliç.
A second raid at the home of Yousif Mahalli, Mohamed Muttardi, Ramadan Bozakouk and Laya Sharif was said to have turned up 42 grammes of cannabis, which was thrown from the window as police broke in and confiscated electronic scales, a grinder and cash suspected to be from drug sales totalling $400, 500 euros and 2,000TL.
Abdullah Hamed and Sahah Khan were arrested in a car in front of the house, from where a further seven grammes of cannabis was confiscated. A raid at the home of Samson Ademoyegun was said to have turned up a total of 15.5 grammes of cannabis before a further raid at the home of Sabur Gondal, Farruk Aurangzeb and Umut Keloğlu allegedly revealed one Ecstasy pill and scales in their living room and four grammes of cannabis in 10 packs hidden in a kitchen extractor fan. A further gramme of cannabis was found in Keloğlu’s pocket, the court heard.