Filenews 13 January 2024
He was 28 years the soul of the Anti-Narcotics Administration (YKAN). In difficult times and successes he was there, the official voice of the Agency, as deputy commander, following the drug problem closely.
Stelios Sergides has been out of the YKAN since December 27, 2023 due to retirement, however, in his 28 years there he saw and lived a lot. He talks to "F" about the wrong perception of the drug problem from the beginning, the wrong treatment of users who were persecuted, but also about the clear improvement of things since 2001 with prevention, treatment and repression strategies. He lived through sad events that stigmatized YKAN and led to the resignations of ministers and chiefs of police, but also to great successes. He also confesses about what stigmatized him and defines the framework that the members of the Service should move, stressing it "without personal agendas".
When you look at the figures for the past year, you see an unprecedented situation with the quantities of drugs seized. The deputy governor of the YKAN gives his own explanation: Indeed, in 2023 the barrier of previous years in the quantities of cannabis seized was broken. It seems that the increase in cannabis users shown by the surveys is also reflected in the quantities detected. Demand is growing, so is supply, he says. The aim of YKAN, he said, in recent years, was to confiscate large quantities before entering Cyprus. According to the data, the sea route (ports) is currently being used for drug entry, plus airports and the reintroduction of the old method of importing drugs through post offices and parcels.
Cannabis, he notes, is not the only threat, since in recent years there has been an increase in methamphetamine, where in 2023 8.5 kg were seized, twice as many as in 2022. This is also substantiated by the data of the treatment units where people who use crystal ice, a dangerous substance that quickly becomes dependent, are now admitted. At the same time, Mr. Sergides observes in relation to cocaine that despite the decrease in seizures, this does not imply a decrease in its use. Cocaine, he notes, has become the second most preferred drug in recent years.
The deputy commander of the agency also says that in addition to the large quantities seized, criminal elements belonging to drug trafficking groups, which are now involved in other crimes or are also involved in organized crime, have been arrested. Drugs, he says, now fund other offenses. Organised crime and drugs now go hand in hand, something that previously did not exist.
Let's take things from the beginning. Stelios Sergidis joined YKAN in 1997, the then Drug Enforcement Agency. Things, he says, were completely different then than they are today. At the time, there was generally an introversion when it came to drugs. It was a taboo subject, even the State approached it in the wrong way, since it expected the Police to bring positive results, that is, to fight it and nothing else was done, as other countries did the same.
The drug phenomenon, he notes, went through three stages: First, there was denial, that is, everyone refused to admit that the problem began to touch Cyprus as well. Around this, various myths were created, namely that drugs are dealt with by people from lower socio-economic strata and we stigmatized users, without dealing deeply with the real problem. Therefore, the police were left to fight drugs on their own, a complex and horizontal problem, where prevention, treatment and rehabilitation were needed. That is why we have not had the desired results, because we refuse to admit the essence of the phenomenon.
The second stage was that of panic. When heroin started entering Cyprus after 2000, we had the phenomenon of panic about how we deal with the problem. The third stage was the rational treatment of the problem, i.e. the creation of a strategy where on the one hand repression (reduction of supply) and on the other hand prevention-treatment. That is why the Anti-Drug Council (today the Addictions Authority) and the EKTEPN were created, with our strategy being balanced and addressing the problem in all areas.
However, whereas we used to say by name that drugs are only in such and such areas, they have now spread everywhere. The deputy governor of YKAN says the big question today is why demand is increasing. It is, he said, a politico-social phenomenon. When there are problems in society, use increases. Poverty, Covid lockdown, unemployment, lack of standards, etc. lead to substances. "Me, what I'm saying is that a user uses it to endure his reality. As paradoxical as it sounds, it is the truth. They ask for crutches because they think they might get away with it."
"What I keep all these years in the YKAN", Stelios Sergides stresses, "is that the Service works completely differently from the rest of the Police and is based on the enthusiasm and honesty of the people who serve it, who consider it a vocation to offer, at the risk of their lives, something that does not exist to such an extent elsewhere. There is a feeling to help the fellow man who is suffering and today the Police manage the user completely differently than in the past in order to help him. This started in 2007 when a protocol was implemented, which is now seen as best practice in the EU and which has been awarded as an innovation and many countries have shown interest."
The YKAN went through forty waves many times, received criticism, accusations and was targeted many times. Its long time deputy commander admits that there were ups and downs of the agency. Where there were wrong actions, he stresses, they were not tolerated either by the leadership of the Police or by the State. "We went through difficult times. It was the Kita case and many others that even led to the resignations of the Minister and the Chief of Police. But everything was overcome because YKAN does very important work with positive results towards society. Finally, let me say that the members of the Service must serve with humility, confidentiality and without personal agendas."
"I remember young people drowning in drugs..."
Mr. Sergides lived through many events and saw tragic cases of users trying to stand on their own two feet. "I remember when I first went to YKAN there was a young 16-year-old who was using heroin. In the interview with her, when her parents said, "We gave you everything, why did you do this to us?", her answer was stupefying: "You gave me everything, material goods, but you are never there for me."
A second incident that stigmatized Mr. Sergides was in Agia Skepi. "I went to a theatrical event "The Black Boat" in which people who were receiving therapy took part to tell their experiences. Backstage we were trying to cheer up the participants and there was a girl from Greece who was very worried. I approached her and she said, "You know in the audience it's my father who came from Greece, who had written me off." You can now see the need of these people who need love, help but always with special handling..."
