A large accumulation of persons convicted of drug possession and trafficking has been observed in recent years in the Central Prisons, as a result of which this contributes to the worsening of the problem of overcrowding.
Despite the severe sentences imposed by the Courts and especially the Criminal Courts, drug dealers continue to deal with the import of large quantities in order to make a quick profit.
The frequent seizures by YKAN and the arrests of traders also reflect on the increased convictions of persons who end up in prison.
According to data from the Anti-Drug Service, in 2025 alone, more than 900 people were convicted of drug trafficking and possession offenses, of which 232 ended up in prison after being sentenced to cumulatively more than 700 years in prison.
Specifically, last year 877 cases were registered and 941 were heard (some were pending from previous years). Of these, 232 persons were sentenced to various prison sentences, another 137 persons were given a suspended prison sentence and 558 were fined.
The courts imposed a financial guarantee on 21 persons, a guardianship order was issued on 17, on three supervision orders and on a suspension of trafficking restriction order.
Two persons were acquitted and acquitted. The prisoners were sentenced to a few months to more than 10 years in prison. Currently, 230 people are in prison for drug-related offenses, while another 79 people are on trial for similar offenses.
Prisoners for drug-related offenses are currently the majority, followed by those detained for sexual crimes (about 170 persons) followed by those who committed offenses against property. There is also a large number of those convicted of crimes against life.
Specifically, 47 people are detained for premeditated murder and another 36 for homicide cases, a total of 83 people.
According to the Council of Europe's (CoE) annual Penitentiary Statistics SPACE I 2025, published last month, 20% of prisoners are for drugs, while the percentage of foreign prisoners in Cypriot prisons is also high.
In particular, more than half of the prisoners in Cyprus – 54% were non-Cypriot citizens, giving the country one of the highest rates of foreign prisoners in Europe. Only Luxembourg and Switzerland recorded higher rates.
Cyprus also stands out for having one of the youngest prisoner populations in Europe, with an average age of 35 years, the same as that of France and Denmark, behind Sweden with 34 years and Moldova with 30 years. The European average age of prisoners was 39 years.
At the same time, 27% of prisoners in Cyprus were in detention, slightly higher than the European average of 26%. The highest rates of detention were recorded in Albania, Montenegro and Armenia.
