Drug syndicate trial to begin in October
The trial of seven people who stand accused of forming an alleged criminal syndicate which engaged in drug trafficking, running a protection racket, and illegal gambling will begin at the Nicosia criminal court in October.
Among the seven on trial is 48-year-old Georgios Christodoulou Zavrantonas, who had been sentenced to 22 years in prison in December 2022 after being found in possession of 15 kilograms of cocaine.
His 37-year-old partner, her parents and brother, a 40-year-old man from the Famagusta district, and a 26-year-old prison guard also stand accused of partaking in the syndicate.
Apart from Zavrantonas, all the defendants were released on bails worth €50,000 and ordered to surrender their passports to the police and appear at a police station once a week.
In addition, their names were placed on Cyprus’ stop list, thus preventing them from leaving the country until the trial begins.
In Zavrantonas’ case, prosecution lawyer Antigone Michael requested that he remain in detention, “since there is a risk that if he is released, he will commit other offences”.
In addition, she requested that he be held “in a special area”, so that “there is no risk of him committing similar offences again”.
She then proceeded to list Zavrantonas’ convictions, telling the court that in 1999, he had been sentenced to concurrent sentences of 12 years in prison for homicide, six years for carrying a pistol, seven years for using a pistol, and two years for possessing explosives without a licence.
Then, she said, he was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2005 for cultivating a Class B drug with the intent to supply, while in 2010, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and four years in prison for conspiracy to commit a felony.
She went on to tell the court that in 2014, he had been sentenced to five years in prison for possessing explosives without a licence, four years in prison for causing grievous bodily harm, and seven years in prison for transporting a firearm, before referencing the 2022 sentencing.
She added that with the exception of the 2022 sentencing, all his previous convictions are now spent, and that an appeal has been filed against the 2022 ruling, though no date has yet been set for that appeal to be heard.
Zavrantonas’ lawyer Demetris Tsolakkides said Zavrantonas’ previous convictions “belong to the distant past” and said he “reserves the rights” of his client with relation to the sentence handed down in 2022.