A 68-year-old man form Mammari village in Nicosia has been arrested after cannabis plants were found in the buffer zone.

Drug Squad Police (YKAN) officers – acting on a tip-off – entered the area and retrieved 57 cannabis plants said to be around 1.5 metres in height. The man, who owns a field and two houses in the area, has reportedly admitting to growing the plants. His properties were placed under surveillance.

Police later searched the man’s two homes where they found 1,200 grams of cannabis and 1.3grams of hemp seeds.

A Greek couple were caught with 23 kilos of cannabis in their luggage at Larnaca airport on Friday evening.

According to the police, the Greek 54-year-old man had arrived on a flight from Athens. When customs police search his luggage, they found 12 kilos of the drug in 10 separate packages.

The man had arrived in Cyprus with his 48-year-old wife, also from Greece. The woman had already passed through customs.

The woman, who had already cleared through customs, was located by men of the Anti-drug Squad (YKAN).

Her luggage, abandoned at the airport, was found to contain another seven packages with a total of 11 kilos of cannabis.

The couple were arrested, and following police interrogation admitted their guilt.

OUR SOCIETY has never dealt rationally with drug use, always falling victim to the scare-mongering by self-appointed anti-drugs crusaders who were more concerned about making a name for themselves rather than adopting a sensible approach to the issue. They were greatly assisted by the sensationalism of the media, which for years referred to cannabis as ‘white’ or ‘slow death’, regardless of the fact that the drug does not cause death and is said to be less harmful to health than alcohol.

A 56-year-old man in Larnaca was using the empty pool of a tourist complex as a hiding place for marijuana plants.

Police were tipped about the plants and had kept the pool under surveillance. The 56-year-old was arrested Wednesday afternoon as he went to tender the plants.

The plants were confiscated and the man was set to appear before a Larnaca Magistrate on Thursday.

Elsewhere, a 33-year-old was also arrested when his car was stopped for a routine check and police found 3 grams of cannabis resin.