Cocaine trial witness admits lying

The key prosecution witness in the trial of Giorgos ‘Zavrantonas’ Christodoulou – facing charges of importing 15 kilograms of cocaine with intent to sell – told the court on Thursday that he had initially lied when telling authorities the drugs were his. “My first deposition was not the truth, the second one was the truth,” said witness Yiannis Andreou, alias ‘Maronas’. The case is being re-tried after the appeals court overturned the conviction of Christodoulou, who in December 2022 was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The appeals court had ordered the case to be retried from scratch. Andreou himself had initially been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the same case. Having served four, he was subsequently granted a presidential pardon, and has turned witness for the state. Related Articles • Zavrantonas retrial continues • ‘Zavrantonas’ denies charges in retrial over 15kg cocaine case • Mistrial request dismissed by Nicosia criminal court • Zavrantonas to stay in custody pending cocaine retrial Having already been sentenced once for the same case, and having a presidential pardon, he cannot now implicate himself due to double jeopardy. Before Nicosia criminal court on Thursday, Andreou said that when he was first arrested in January 2019, he had lied about the narcotics being his. Police had surveilled both him and another man – Aristos Kyprianou – at Andreou’s residence in Lakatamia. Answering questions from the prosecution, Andreou recognised items of evidence seized from his residence and its surroundings on the day. He admitted to having tossed a 1kg packet of cocaine from the veranda on realising that the police were moving in. From cameras installed at his house, he spotted officers arrest Kyprianou who was sitting in a parked car outside. The witness also said that Christodoulou had assigned him to pick up the cocaine. He had been acquainted with Christodoulou since 2016. Following the latter’s release from prison, the two stayed in touch. A few days before Andreou was arrested, Christodoulou had traveled to the Netherlands to arrange for the smuggling of the cocaine to Cyprus. Christodoulou then contacted Andreou, giving him instructions on how to take receipt of the drugs. Andreou further admitted to picking up the narcotics from a designated spot. He said Kyprianou was with him at the time, but that Kyprianou knew nothing, he was merely escorting him. Cross-examined by the defendant’s attorney, Andreou insisted that his first deposition to police, immediately after his arrest, was untrue. He had then taken responsibility for the narcotics because he was “afraid” and because he wished to protect a friend of his. But, he went on to claim, his second deposition – following the presidential pardon and the suspension of his sentence – was true. In this second deposition, Andreou implicated Christodoulou as the brains behind the narcotics smuggling. Asked whether he had previously – before this case – ever been involved in importing narcotics, Andreou said yes. But when asked when, the witness replied: “Ask your client [Christodoulou], he knows better.” In another part of his testimony, Andreou said he was Christodoulou’s “man”. The lawyer challenged Andreou, telling him he changed his story in exchange for witness protection. Andreou denied this categorically. He said his new testimony is the truth, and that he wouldn’t appear in court if he did not want to. The witness further claimed that, to this day, his life is at risk. “Even today, I can look you in the eye and say that I’m in danger,” he told Christodoulou’s attorney. The trial continues on Friday.