Ketamine suspects remanded as police probe link to 390kg seizure

Two men arrested over more than 27 kilos of ketamine found in a flat they had rented in Limassol had been in Cyprus for just nine days, a court heard on Wednesday. Anti-Drugs Unit (YKAN) investigators are examining whether the pair are linked to an earlier seizure of 390 kilos of ketamine in the city. Limassol District Court remanded the suspects, aged 23 and 24, for eight days after their lawyers raised no objection. According to the evidence put before the court, the case came to light on Tuesday morning, when the owner of the flat in the Amathus area went to check whether her tenants had left, as their agreed stay was due to end at 11am. The men were not there, but she found a suitcase, four protein bags and a vacuum-sealing machine. She opened the suitcase, found clear bags of plant material and white powder, and told her husband, who called police. That same morning, according to the evidence under examination, YKAN had received information that a particular flat was being used by Israelis to store and deal cocaine. Officers searched the property with the owner’s consent. According to the figures presented in court, the suitcase held about 341 grams of cannabis, 172 grams of cocaine, 2 kilos and 492 grams of ketamine, 776 grams of mephedrone and 233 grams of MDMA. Most of the ketamine was hidden in the four protein bags, which tests showed contained 24 kilos and 280 grams. The total amount of ketamine found in the flat came to 27 kilos and 507 grams. While officers were still there, two young men came up the building’s internal stairs and headed for the flat. When the officers stopped them and identified themselves, one allegedly hit a YKAN officer in the face, while the other pushed a second officer and tried to run. The first resisted arrest, and the second was caught nearby. The injured officer suffered swelling to the lips and redness in one eye, and was discharged after first aid. The owner identified the two as the people she had rented the flat to on September 24. They had arrived in Cyprus on September 20 as visitors, with permission to stay until December 19. Second flat Investigators also searched a second flat in the suspects’ presence. There they found about 35 grams of ketamine scattered around, along with scraps of protein bags that appear to be linked to the bags in which the bulk of the ketamine was hidden. The searches also turned up about 10,000 euros in various banknotes. Questioned at YKAN’s offices, both suspects exercised their right to remain silent. Possible link Investigators are looking into whether the case is connected to the earlier seizure. The authorities have not ruled out a link and are trying to establish the pair’s role and the drugs’ final destination. A hotel was due to be searched on Wednesday, followed by another flat where one of the suspects said he had stayed for two days after booking through a rental platform. Investigators are examining the pair’s movements since they arrived, the places they stayed and their possible contacts on the island, and are looking for accomplices. Read more: Suspect in 390kg Limassol ketamine case says he was to be paid €5,000