The amount of money frozen in the bank accounts of suspects arrested in Operation ‘Plegma’ rose to 350,000 euros on Thursday, from 100,000 euros in the morning, as investigators turned to identifying who is behind the drug trafficking network.
Banks traced further sums in suspects’ accounts during the day, and the freezing of assets is continuing. Property worth more than 400,000 euros has also been frozen as a result of the financial investigation.
The investigation is now focused on identifying those at the top of the group, who moved hundreds of thousands of euros, if not millions, through drug smuggling, Christos Andreou, director of the newly established Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (DAOE), told philenews.
He said investigators did not stop after large quantities of cannabis and cocaine were found last January, but turned to the financial trail behind the illegal profits. Analysis of the evidence led to the 26 arrests.
“Some of them certainly appear to be heads of this criminal group,” Andreou said.
The aim, he added, is to dismantle the entire network behind the organisation, stripping it of both its drugs and its profits.
One of those arrested had a leading role in the group, but most were allegedly associates, philenews understands. The people pulling the strings have not yet been identified. To trace them, police are examining electronic data from suspects’ phones and other devices in their possession under court warrants.
Eight people appear to be directly involved: four convicted prisoners and four remand prisoners. The others are being held over items found in their homes. One of those arrested, who was found with a pistol, will be brought before a court, where police will seek his remand. Some suspects are already in court for remand hearings in separate proceedings.
During months of coordinated inquiries, investigators found that people who had declared themselves unemployed, or who had no steady job, owned luxury cars or had a level of wealth that could not be justified. Investigators then examined bank accounts and searched the Land Registry to freeze movable and immovable assets.
Background
DAOE carried out Operation ‘Plegma’ on Thursday in the Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta districts and at the Central Prisons, executing court warrants for 26 arrests. Officers searched 27 homes, premises, vehicles and prison cells. The Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) worked with police on freezing assets. The investigation began after the seizure of 167 kilos of cannabis and 62 kilos of cocaine.
