Nicosia, Cyprus. The retrial of Giorgos Zavrantonas Christodoulou moved into the substance of the case on Monday, with defence lawyers raising several objections to evidence submitted by prosecutors. Christodoulou is facing charges before the Nicosia criminal court of possessing 15 kilograms of cocaine with intent to sell and has pleaded not guilty.
Case background
Christodoulou was originally sentenced in December 2022 to 22 years in prison. That conviction was later overturned by the appeals court, which ordered that the case be retried from the beginning.
Testimony from drug squad officer
During Monday’s hearing, the prosecution called an officer from the drug squad who had been responsible for the evidence in the case.
Officer Militsa Papa told the court about the events of January 16, 2019, when police arrested two men for possession of 15 kilograms of cocaine.
Arrests and evidence
The two men arrested at a residence in Lakatamia were Aristos Kyprianou and Yiannis Andreou.
According to Officer Papa, when she arrived at the scene she was informed about the arrests. Andreou was inside the house, while Kyprianou was inside a vehicle.
She said a packet containing cocaine was found in the garden of the same house after Andreou showed officers the exact location and told them the drugs were his.
Police also found an army-style bag on the driver’s seat of Kyprianou’s car. Inside the bag were 14 packages containing a white substance.
Andreou’s status in the case
Andreou had initially been sentenced to 16 years in prison in the same case. After serving four years, he was granted a presidential pardon and has now become a witness in the retrial.
