Defence disputes drug quantities in Zavrantonas cocaine trial

Local drugslawpoliceTop Newstrial Defence disputes drug quantities in Zavrantonas cocaine trial Zavrantwnas Id 503113 Relevant News Defence disputes drug quantities in Zavrantonas cocaine trial 21 July 2026 Cut hours or stop work, employers told as heat spikes 21 July 2026 Cyprus Airways links up with Air France for Paris flights 21 July 2026 newsroom 21 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Defence disputes drug quantities in Zavrantonas cocaine trial The trial of Giorgos Christodoulou-Zavrantonas over a high-profile cocaine case continued on Monday before the Nicosia Criminal Court. The defence disputed the quantities of drugs involved and questioned how police had handled the evidence. State General Chemist officer Maria Konstantinou testified today (21/07) on the disputed drug quantity. Prosecution representative Vasilis Bissas examined her first, followed by cross-examination from defence lawyer Christos Poutziouris. She testified about analyses carried out on the quantity shortly after the Anti-Drugs Unit (YKAN) seized it from the home of Yiannis Andreou, known as “Maronas.” Konstantinou said she received the exhibits for the case on January 18, 2019 at 14:15. Police had asked her to determine whether narcotic substances were present, along with their type and weight. During her testimony, photographs were presented and filed as exhibits, along with the military bag in which the drugs were found. Konstantinou said she received the military bag inside a cardboard box. The two side pockets each held one package containing a rectangular slab of white solid substance, while the main compartment held 12 further packages, bringing the total to 14. The rectangular slabs, she said, carried two different types of embossed stamps: one showing a triangle with a circle in the middle, found on nine slabs, and another appearing to show facial features, found on five slabs. The material was later confirmed as cocaine, with a total weight of 15 kilograms and 16 grams. The court was also shown the yellow bag that held the drug packages, along with each individual package containing the “white solid powder.” Konstantinou described the cocaine as highly pure, saying she and her colleagues “did not detect any diluents” typically found in cocaine. Defence disputes quantities, criticises police In cross-examination, Poutziouris asked the witness whether she had come across the stamps found on the drugs before. She said she had not and could not know where they had been made. Asked whether any of the exhibits were intact or had been tampered with, the officer said one exhibit had a tear that was possibly caused by the Institute of Neurology, since it carried the institute’s own labels. At another point in the cross-examination, Poutziouris put it to the witness that the powder and wrappings presented in court would not fit inside the military bag. He said the quantity police seized from the bag “is not the same” as what was brought to the Chemist and is now before the court. Konstantinou responded that she received the exhibits sealed and carried out the analysis according to standard procedures. On the recorded weight of 15 kilograms and 16 grams, Zavrantonas’s lawyer said this was not correct. The witness clarified that this was the net weight, taken once the substance was removed from its packaging. The defence put to her that 80 grams had been removed, which she confirmed, adding that this amount was returned to police. Asked whether she knew who had received the 80 grams and whether that person was before the court today, Konstantinou said she did not know. “Maronas” cross-examination raised other known figures Last week’s proceedings included the cross-examination of Yiannis Andreou. The defence attempted to suggest that Andreou’s change of stance years ago, when he named Zavrantonas as the mastermind of the case, was not driven by honest motives. The defence’s questioning also referenced several other individuals. These included Giorgos Fenek, a Greek Cypriot who was previously the target of a criminal act, and Zavrantonas’s former wife. Also named were current Deputy Police Chief Panikos Stavrou, Yiannis Kalopsidiotis, former Central Prisons director Anna Aristotelous, police officer Michalis Katsounotos, Andros Rodotheou, and lawyers Viktoras Akamas and Sotiris Argyrou, who represented Andreou in different proceedings. The drugs were originally discovered in January 2019 by YKAN in Lakatamia. Yiannis Andreou (“Maronas”) and Aristos Kyprianou were convicted over the case in July 2019 and sentenced to 16 and 8 years in prison, respectively. Andreou later gave new testimony naming Zavrantonas as the mastermind behind the case, leading to a separate case being filed against him. Zavrantonas was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison on December 12, 2022. The Court of Appeal overturned that conviction on May 11, 2026, citing an error in the composition of the first-instance court, and ordered a retrial. The next hearings have been scheduled for July 30 and 31. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Cut hours or stop work, employers told as heat spikes Cyprus Airways links up with Air France for Paris flights In Gaza, a mother’s hunt for water lays bare a worsening health crisis Greek author Alexis Stamatis dies aged 66 Court of Appeal rejects German woman’s EIO appeal Deadly heatwaves force an ageing France to confront a hotter future More than 15 Indian workers trapped after hydroelectric tunnel blast kills nine Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.