Filenews 17 September 2021 - by Ioanna Mantzipa
The anti-drug agency's data on the involvement of young people in the deep paths of drugs are causing concern and horror. More and more young people – mainly persons who have just reached teen age – are being arrested for possession and use of substances, while now many are also taking on the role of trafficker or even warehousekeeper of large quantities.
A typical case is the case of the three young men in Limassol, 18, 21 and 23 years old, who were arrested last week in the case of locating and seizing about eight kilograms of cannabis. The three young men even appear to be members of a criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking and trafficking. The problem, however, is even bigger, as from the studies and data of YKAN, users from the age of 13 years and above are recorded.
Speaking to "F", the commander of YKAN, Michalis Katssountos, said that there are indications that more and more young people are involved in drug use or trafficking, stressing that this should trouble us. "There have been such cases in the past, however, they have increased in recent times. We will have to see what role socializing institutions and, above all, the family play."
He added that from YKAN's statistics, a variation in ages is recorded whether they are up or down. "What has been of great concern to us lately is the fact that in the latest cases there is involvement of minors. Here, as he pointed out, "the legitimate question arises, how they managed at such ages to get into this process". Asked about underage users and from what age they are led to the drug trails, he noted that from the latest data and studies, users of students from the age of 13 and above are recorded.
The commander of the Anti-Narcotics Agency, cited as an example last year's case of a young man and the detection and seizure of more than 10 kilograms of cannabis and a kilogram of cocaine. "The young man had rented an apartment which they turned into a drug depot. Obviously these ages are much more vulnerable and because they are not shielded to have resistance, they are easily carried away." He stressed that some of them are motivated by easy profit, while others are motivated by the securing of drugs because they are users.
