Ongoing strong demand for cannabis
Over the past few months authorities have detected and seized a series of large quantities of cannabis, whose carriers tried to smuggle it through Larnaca airport. And although the amounts might appear remarkable, sources tell the Cyprus Mail that these busts are nothing out of the ordinary. All the same, they do point to the ongoing strong demand for marijuana in Cyprus.
“Though I don’t have the exact figures, I can tell you in general that demand for cannabis here is very high, it’s a very popular substance,” former deputy assistant to the police chief in charge of operations Sotiris Charalambous said.
In the latest seizure, police on Thursday confiscated 26.6kg of cannabis at Larnaca airport. The 23-year-old male suspect – now under arrest and being questioned – had stashed the narcotics in his luggage. He was checked while passing through customs.
The man had an Italian passport, and arrived on a flight from Bangkok, via Dubai.
The same route to Cyprus had been taken by two women about three months ago. They were likewise found out and arrested at the airport. They had tried to smuggle in 41kg of cannabis.
And on September 10, Larnaca criminal court sentenced a 30-year-old man to 11 years in jail, having found the defendant guilty on the charge of importing illicit substances. He had been arrested at Larnaca airport on July 6, after his screened luggage was found to contain 15.6kg of cannabis.
These are large amounts, no doubt. But according to Charalambous, they are not out of the ordinary.
Asked why people would risk bringing in drugs in their luggage, Charalambous pointed out that 95 per cent of travellers from European countries are not screened by airport customs.
“It’s a numbers game. High risk, high reward. If, say, a ‘mule’ gets caught, the supplier can always send another with 20kg or whatever.”
According to a study cited in a July 2018 report by the National Addictions Authority (titled The Social Cost of Illegal Addictive Substances in Cyprus), cannabis was the most widespread addictive on the island.
A population survey (valid up until 2016) found that about one in 10 adults (aged 15-64) had used the drug at least once in their life – a slight uptick on data from 2014.
A more recent study by the same authority, published in 2023, included lab analysis of sewage samples. In the survey part, four in 10 respondents said they knew someone who used cannabis, 34 per cent said they had friends who used, and 73 per cent thought that if they wanted to they could easily find some marijuana to smoke within 24 hours.
The same study showed an upward trend in cannabis use among all age groups – although the increase was not sensational.
Another factoid: cannabis consumption is higher in the summer and autumn.
Meantime the European Drug Report for 2024, published in June of this year, called cannabis “the most commonly consumed illicit drug” in the continent.
The highlights of the report read: “The average THC content of cannabis resin has doubled in the last 10 years and continues to rise (22.8 per cent in 2022), while that of herbal cannabis has been generally stable. And cannabis products are now increasingly diverse, including high-potency extracts and edibles.”
The report also stated that “around 8 per cent (22.8 million) of European adults (15-64 years) are estimated to have used cannabis in the last year, with prevalence rising to 15 per cent (15.1 million) among young adults (15-34 years)”.
Back in Cyprus, Charalambous recalls the biggest cannabis haul ever during his career in the police force – 15 tonnes.
It happened in the late 1980s. Acting on a tip, police tracked a vessel that was escorted by two speed boats, all coming from Lebanon. The traffickers were to rendezvous with a larger boat onto which the drugs would be loaded. The coast guard intercepted the traffickers off the coast of Ayia Napa. Police made 17 arrests.
“Although this case was different to what we’re talking about,” the ex-cop points out. “The drugs were not meant for the Cypriot market, they were headed for Spain.”