By George Psyllides
THE British bases (SBA) said on Tuesday that a large amount of a substance believed to be cocaine was seized during a raid on an illegal casino in Trachoni village on Monday morning.
“The substance, which if confirmed to be cocaine could have a street value of approximately €30,000, was seized alongside €5,500 cash which was found in a hidden safe during the raid,” an SBA statement said.
Some 120 SBA officers raided the establishment on Monday, arresting two suspects – one being the manager of the casino — on the spot and a third later in the day after his car was found on the premises with a cannabis grinder inside, alongside traces of what is believed to have been the drug.
The manager has been remanded in custody until Friday while the other two suspects were released on bail and will appear again in court at a later date.
SBA Police Superintendant, George Kiteos, has said the efforts of the SBA police to enforce the law will not end there: “Within the SBAs we apply the same legislation and laws to illegal gambling as the Republic of Cyprus and we are determined to apply that law towards those people who attempt to break it.
“We will continue to target specific premises that are suspected to be used for this illegal activity and by working in close liaison with the Cyprus Police we will continue with this sort of operation and prosecute those responsible.”
Police said that apart from the enormous amount of gambling equipment seized during the operation, which included roulette wheels, gaming tables, computers and fruit machines, a €50,000 Harley Davidson was also found.
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