Supreme Court upholds 10-year term for 1 kilo of cannabis

Cyprus’ Supreme Court has upheld a 10-year sentence, one of the heftiest convictions ever to be handed down to a defendant found guilty of possessing nearly one kilo of cannabis with intent to supply.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a man convicted to eight-year in jail for transporting 996.8 gr of cannabis, plus 773 days for breaking his release rules when granted a Presidential pardon.

The sentence is one of the longest prison convictions imposed for such a quantity and type of drug in Cyprus and was delivered by the Larnaca-Famagusta Criminal Court in 2020.

Due to the seriousness of the drug trafficking charges and the facts of the case, the higher court agreed the punitive sentence imposed by the Criminal Court was appropriate under the circumstances.

The accused had two prior convictions for similar offences.

On behalf of the Attorney General’s office, the case was handled by senior state prosecutor Thanasis Papanicolaou.