Five fined for attempting to cross at Ledra Palace with 58kg of meat

Five people were fined by the Turkish Cypriot police after attempting to cross from the Republic to the north at the Ledra Palace crossing point in Nicosia with combined total of 58 kilograms of meat in their possession.

In the first instance, a total of 26kg of meat was found in bags being carried across the Green Line by three women, aged 66, 62, and 55 years old.

Later, a 43-year-old woman was found to have a total of 21kg of meat on her person, while a 75-year-old man was found to be attempting to carry 11kg of meat to the north at the crossing point.

All five people were issued fines by the north’s customs department, and the police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.

The subject of meat has been a hot topic in the north all year, with farmers having spent a week protesting outside ‘government’ buildings at the end of May against plans to import meat from abroad with the aim of driving down prices.

Meat is markedly more expensive in the north than in the Republic, with the prices of many other products in the north now exceeding their equivalents in the Republic.

Because of this, numerous individuals have been caught by police on both sides of the island attempting to smuggle cheaper meat into the north, leading to a large number of arrests and fines.

The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel had expressed concern that Turkish Cypriots were buying “meat of unknown origin from southern Cyprus”, and that instead, the north would begin importing meat which complies with “EU standards”.

Previously, butchers had slaughtered two lambs in protest against their loss of custom, and demanded that the north’s ‘government’ “find a solution” to allow meat to be sold at a price range in line with prices in the Republic.