British tourist jailed in north for cannabis possession

A British tourist was on Thursday sentenced to two months in prison in the north after having been convicted for the possession of cannabis.

The man appeared in front of a three-judge panel in court, with senior judge Vedia Berkut Barkin reading out the verdict.

He had landed at the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport at around 9.55am on July 27 and had caught the attention of a sniffer dog in the airport’s baggage reclaim hall.

A subsequent search of his suitcase found a total of three grams of cannabis inside.

Barkin said that the small amount of cannabis found in the man’s suitcase was an indication that he had it in his possession for his own personal use and had no intent to supply or sell it on. She also pointed out that he had been held in custody since July 31.

On the other hand, she said, “drug crimes are serious crimes”, and for this reason, “deterrent and exemplary punishments must be handed down”.

As such, he was sentenced to two months in prison.