Police burst party in Esentepe: Arrests 5 for drugs and 19 for illegal residency

Turkish Cypriot police busted a party on Saturday night in Esentepe and arrested five people for drugs and 19 people for not having a residence permit.

The operation by the Narcotics and Smuggling Prevention Directorate and Kyrenia Police Department teams was carried out at a house where a party was taking place place in Esentepe on the evening of Saturday May 18.

During the operation, five individuals were arrested on drug charges. Another 19 individuals were arrested for residing in the country without residence permits.

According to information provided by the Police Press Office, one of those arrested, N.T.A. (23) was found with approximately 7 grams of a substance believed to be cannabis, a partially smoked cigar suspected to contain cannabis mixed with tobacco, and about 1 gram of a similar substance was found during a subsequent search of his residence in Çatalköy.

The suspects O.P.A. (22) was found with a cigarette suspected to contain cannabis and approximately 3 grams of a similar substance, C.A.U. (28) was found in possession of  two pills believed to contain MDMA, and M.J.O. (29) was found with a cigarette suspected to contain cannabis.

These individuals, along with O.A.T. (32), who was also identified as being involved, were arrested.

Immigration checks during the operation revealed that 19 foreign nationals present at the party were residing in the country without legal status or residence permits.

The police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

***Narcotics teams have stepped up operations in efforts to combat the increasing incidences of drugs traffic and usage of drugs. In October 2023, it was reported that  total of 122 kilograms of narcotics were seized in 2022. This figure has more than doubled to a total of 265.8 kilograms in the first eight months of 2023.

Data shared by the Narcotics and Smuggling Prevention Directorate shows that in the past eight months, the majority of drugs seized was cannabis totalling 264 kilograms. It was noted that 241 kilograms of this drug had been washed up on the beaches. This figure was 46 kilograms in 2022. [Ed.]

LGC news