Filenews 17 November 2025
The Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca imposed a 15-year prison sentence on a 35-year-old woman from the United States, who tried to import 35 kilograms of cannabis into Cyprus last April. The 35-year-old was found guilty after her own admission to charges of possession and importation of drugs for the purpose of supplying them to other people.
The accused arrived at Larnaca Airport from Barcelona on the afternoon of April 4, 2025 carrying two pieces of luggage. The 35-year-old was checked by officials of the Customs Department at Larnaca Airport, in cooperation with members of the Anti-Drug Service. During the check, 61 packages containing a quantity of dry cannabis plant matter weighing 35 kg were found in the two luggage.
She confessed that she was recruited through an application on a social media platform. Specifically, she stated that she would travel from the USA to France and unknown persons offered to pay her for her vacation and give her €1000 in order to transport two suitcases to Cyprus. She claimed that she did not know who she would deliver the drugs to in Cyprus and that she would receive instructions after arriving in Cyprus.
The Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca made special reference to the frequency with which such serious drug cases now come before it and the need to impose dissuasive penalties. The case was handled on behalf of the Prosecution by Antonis Antoniou.
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The Judge of the Limassol District Court ruled today that they are on trial until the start of the hearing before the Permanent Criminal Court of Limassol for the four defendants of the murder of Stavros Demosthenous.
These are the two 30-year-olds, the 31-year-old Georgian and the 51-year-old of Greek origin, for whom his lawyer was the only one who objected to his detention as a prisoner.
The Court, in its multi-page decision, stated that "I consider that there is a risk of evasion" for the 51-year-old, noting that no strong ties of the accused with the Republic of Cyprus were identified.
He also stressed that the risk of evasion of justice, as well as the risk of influencing witnesses, is real for all the accused.
The case was registered last Thursday and referred by the District Court before the Criminal Court, with the start of the hearing set for January 29, 2026.
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The Police, following instructions from the Legal Service, proceeded today to register the much-praised case with the thousands of documents of the Central Prisons which were found in the house of the chief guard.
The case concerns a number of offenses and eight persons are in the indictment:
– The former director of the Central Prison, Anna Aristotelous,
– Former deputy director Athena Demetriou
– Five prison guards
– A former prison guard and current police officer
The case was registered before the Nicosia District Court and the indictment is very serious. The registration of the case today is not accidental, since the suspension of the five prison guards and a police officer expires at the end of the week and they should return to their duties.
It is noted that Ms. Aristotelous is already suspended, has appealed, while she has recently been appointed general manager and it is expected that the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, the Council of Ministers will decide to place her in a managerial position.
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Cyprus Mail
A €16,500 penalty was handed down by the Limassol district court over sweeping safety failures that led to a construction worker’s death when an excavation collapsed, with additional fines imposed on two individuals for their role in the unsafe site conditions.
The labour inspection department said the largest fine, €7,000, was imposed on Pelasgos Homes & Constructions Ltd, the building contractor found responsible for violations that resulted in the fatal accident.
Inspectors concluded that the company failed to take essential precautions during the excavation for a retaining wall, despite the steep drop and unstable slope at the site. The firm did not install proper support along the excavation or shape the slope into terraces, allowing soil to collapse onto the employee who was carrying out waterproofing work.
The department added that the company also failed to identify and implement protective measures based on a formal risk assessment, including those specific to the waterproofing task.
It further noted that Pelasgos Homes & Constructions Ltd had not updated the site’s safety and health plan before work began and had not coordinated with the project’s safety coordinator to ensure that safe working methods and the necessary technical measures were in place.
Loizou & Siamtanis Civil Engineers, the project’s contractor and supervising designer, was fined €1,500 for failing to ensure a safety and health plan had been prepared before construction started – a requirement under workplace safety regulations.
The court also fined ABA Polaris Ltd, the project owner, €2,500 for not ensuring that the existing safety and health plan was adequate. Inspectors found that the plan lacked essential measures for managing the risks associated with waterproofing the retaining wall, leaving workers exposed to danger.
In addition to the fines imposed on the companies, the court issued penalties of €3,500 and €2,000 to two individuals for safety violations that contributed to the fatal accident and endangered multiple people.
