Filenews 25 March 2023
The Larnaca District Court imposed on Friday, March 24, a 45-day prison sentence on one person and a fine of €3,000 on five others, after they were found guilty of self-inflicted customs offenses related to duty-free tobacco products.
According to an announcement by the Department of Customs and Excise, "on March 21, after a check carried out by officers of the Department of Customs and Excise at Larnaka airport, they found in the luggage of six persons, of Turkish Cypriot origin, who were to depart for Luton, UK, a total of 28,500 grams of roll-your-own tobacco brand Amber Leaf and 975 cartons (195,000 pieces) of Benson & Hedges cigarettes, Parliament, Davidoff and Silk Cut, which did not carry the statutory marking for smoking harm, the safety feature and the unique traceability identifier'.
The six people were arrested for flagrant customs offences and the tobacco products were seized as subjects for confiscation. The total customs duty burden attributable to the seized tobacco products amounts to €68,475.
The next day, the 22nd of the month, the six people were brought before the Larnaca District Court, which issued a three-day detention order.
On Friday, the six persons were brought before the Larnaca District Court, where the Department of Customs and Excise proceeded to file indictments against them.
The Larnaca District Court "heard the cases on the same day and imposed a 45-day prison sentence on one of the six defendants and a fine of three thousand euros on each of the remaining five defendants".
CNA
With an appeal to the Supreme Court against the first-instance decision of the Limassol District Court for the tragic triple fatality that occurred on May 27, 2017 in Polemidia, the Legal Service proceeds on the instructions of the Attorney General, George Savvides.
In a relevant announcement, the Law Office says that the Attorney General of the Republic filed an appeal yesterday in relation to the inadequacy of the sentence for driving offenses under the influence of drugs and alcohol, as well as the sequencing of sentences, so that the entire sentence should reflect the overall behaviour of the accused.
It is recalled that the Limassol Court imposed on 15/03, a sentence of three years' imprisonment on the 32-year-old who, after a hearing, was found guilty of 14 charges, the most serious being three separate charges in the offence of causing death by reckless, reckless or dangerous act in violation of Article 210 of the Criminal Code. It also imposed driving licence deprivation for a period of three and a half years and six penalty points as well as penalties of a few months in the offences of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Andreas Yiasemi, 32 years old, Dimitris Savvas also 32 years old and Panagiotis Stefanou, 26 years old, lost their lives instantly from the terrible head-on collision. The 32-year-old had violated the speed limit, was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis while his vehicle was without insurance and registration.
The appeal of the Attorney General demonstrates the need to change and amend Article 210 of the Criminal Code and increase the prescribed penalties for fatal accidents. It is recalled that in his speech at an international online conference organized by the School of Judges in March 2021, the Judge of the Supreme Court, Nicholas G. Santis, on "Fatal Road Accidents (A210, Cap.154): Criminal Observations from the Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court", raised the issue of penalties. Mr. Santis pointed out that road fatalities should be treated with deterrent penalties, stressing that the time has come to increase the statutory maximum penalty.
