Limassol ketamine bust amounts to 790,000 doses, police say

Local drugsLimassolpoliceTop News Limassol ketamine bust amounts to 790,000 doses, police say Police Seize 390kg Of Ketamine Worth 790,000 Doses In Limassol Raid Relevant News Limassol ketamine bust amounts to 790,000 doses, police say 15 September 2026 Limit AI now or humanity will lose its agency, says Nobel laureate Ressa 15 September 2026 Growing together: Pafilia’s bring your child to work tradition comes to Minthis 15 September 2026 Newsroom 15 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Anti-Drugs Squad (YKAN) seized around 390kg of ketamine in an operation in Limassol, a quantity its commander, Christos Andreou, described as particularly significant, equivalent to at least 790,000 doses. Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Andreou said the operation began after a tip-off that YKAN assessed and acted on. Officers initially found 127kg of the substance, and further evidence later led them to a second quantity of 263.5kg in a warehouse in Limassol. Four people have been detained over the case, and the investigation continues, Andreou said. Asked whether there was information pointing to additional quantities linked to this batch, he said YKAN was looking into related information, including whether there had been an earlier consignment. Andreou said ketamine is classified as a Class B drug with a depressant effect. Beyond its use as a narcotic, he said, it can also serve as an ingredient in the production of other synthetic drugs. He described it as new to the Cyprus market: from 2022 to date, only around 220 grams had previously been recorded, whereas YKAN is now confronting far larger quantities. He added that European partner agencies were also reporting a rising trend in ketamine. Asked more broadly about the state of the Cyprus drug market, Andreou said trends shift often depending on supply and demand. This year, he said, YKAN identified new substances, including poppy-derived opioids, and has seized significant quantities of Captagon — around 1,100 tablets so far this year, compared with about 32 in the whole of last year. Cocaine seizures, he added, have already far exceeded last year’s total. On dismantling trafficking networks, Andreou said YKAN often succeeds in identifying dealers, though he stressed that specific individuals cannot be publicly named as network “masterminds.” He said targeting large quantities is aimed at removing significant amounts of drugs from Cypriot society. He cited a recent opioid case in which a large network was dismantled within ten days, with 60kg of the substance seized and 21 people arrested; those individuals, he said, are now remanded at Central Prisons awaiting trial. Andreou said the masterminds behind networks operating in Cyprus are based within the Republic, while their associates are abroad. Cyprus does not produce drugs, particularly synthetic ones, he noted, so they are imported into the country, mainly through airports and ports, including marinas and fishing shelters, as well as in packages sent via courier companies. He said YKAN, working with the Customs Department, carries out checks on a weekly and random basis, regardless of whether specific intelligence points to drug trafficking. Alongside its trafficking investigations, YKAN also conducts financial investigations where there are reasonable grounds to suspect assets were acquired through drug sales. Andreou said the unit has its own financial investigations division and has frozen more than €1.5 million in recent years, alongside confiscations of assets of significant value. These investigations and asset freezes, carried out with MOKAS, Cyprus’s anti-money-laundering authority, cover cash, bank accounts, property, vehicles and cryptocurrencies. (information from CNA) Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Limit AI now or humanity will lose its agency, says Nobel laureate Ressa Growing together: Pafilia’s bring your child to work tradition comes to Minthis Parthenon Marbles: legitimising theft through loans First hearing set tomorrow for Drousiotis, Kyriakou in “Sandy” case Cyprus paediatricians flag rise in staph skin infections as pupils return to school How foreign residents in Cyprus can access the Digital Citizen app Cyprus hourly labour costs rise 3.8% year-on-year in second quarter Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.