WITH everything from golden beaches and ancient ruins, to cheap pints and wild nightlife, a stunning island in the Mediterranean has long been a haven for holidaying Brits, young and old.
But while unsuspecting tourists recline on sun loungers, there is a seedy underworld of drug traffickers and crime gangs at work right under their noses – shifting millions of pounds worth of drugs into resorts.
A picturesque island is known as a centre of ancient history and culture, but is becoming a key transport route for drug gangs[/caption]
Police shared photos of one of their massive drug busts[/caption]
The mayor of Paphos says Cyprus has hit a ‘tragic new low’[/caption]
Just four hours from the UK, Cyprus is fast becoming a major cog in the global drugs supply chain, thanks to its location between the Middle East and Europe.
The island, with a population of 1.3million, has become a significant hub for human trafficking, with sexual exploitation rife during the summer holiday season, according to the Global Organised Crime Index.
But it seems international crime gangs and cartels are getting wise to this lucrative supply route, hoping to flood resorts with millions of pounds worth of cannabis, cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines and push large quantities of illegal drugs through Europe.
The holiday destination has seen a sharp increase in drug seizures this year already, with cannabis and cocaine confiscations doubling compared to 2024, according to the Cyprus Mail.
Worryingly, Christos Andreou, commander for Cyprus’ anti-drug unit, also warned of the risk of the “jihadi fuel” drug Captagon flooding in from nearby Syria and Lebanon, while Afghan shipments of heroin are also a concern.
However, cocaine is the real prize for gangs.
Shipments often arrive hidden in air freight from Latin America or via hubs in Belgium and the Netherlands, with the biggest demand in Brit-favourite resorts like Ayia Napa and Paralimni.
Authorities say well-established Cypriot gangs dominate the trade – but work hand-in-glove with foreign mafias and are even coming up with creative ways to avoid detection.
These international syndicates are no longer just stuffing cocaine into car boots or hidden compartments but using mini whale submarines – bizarre vessels designed to look like real marine animals – to smuggle drugs from Europe and South America, with Cyprus flagged as one of the key departure points.
These “whale vessels” are ferried on cargo ships before being dropped in international waters, where smaller boats whisk their deadly cargo to shore – each one can carry vast hauls of cocaine or fentanyl.
A senior police source told The Sun that cartels, the Italian mafia, and even bikie gangs were “thinking outside the box”.
It seems even pigeons are being enlisted as drug mules, too – with packages of narcotics tied to their feet destined for the island.
Photographic evidence of the feathered drug couriers was shared by the mayor of Paphos exclusively with The Sun, showing the winged smugglers with small bundles of drugs strapped around their ankles before they flutter off to dealers and drop zones.
According to the mayor, Phedon Phedonos, drug trafficking with pigeons isn’t new, and while it brings in just small amounts of drugs, it is an increasing problem.
He said those behind the bizarre feathery operation are already known to authorities, and voiced his frustration over why “no action has been taken”.
Pictures released by the mayor showing the fixings used to attach drug bags to pigeons found in a drug den[/caption]
The drag trafficking pigeons are a long-running problem in Cyprus[/caption]
Narcotics distribution centres are springing up unchecked[/caption]
Authorities say well-established Cypriot gangs dominate the trade – but work hand-in-glove with foreign mafias[/caption]
Drug cartels use mini whale submarines to smuggle cocaine into Australia via Cyprus[/caption]
A global drug and crime analyst also told The Sun: “Traffickers get very creative. We’ve seen drugs stuffed into tropical fruits – especially bananas. They’re shipped in bulk, they’re perishable, and because they need refrigeration and rapid delivery, they get priority at scanning points.
“This way, they just get sent straight through security without checks, so the fruit does not rot in the transportation process.”
The analyst added that the crime organisers will put large containers of drugs on the side of ocean transport because you can’t see them under the water.
“They call it ‘hide and side’ – concealing boxes of drugs on the sides or even the bottoms of ships,” they said.
For decades, Cyprus has had a reputation as a drug-friendly island.
Speaking with organised drug crime analysts, they told The Sun: “Cyprus has always been strategically positioned between import flows.
“Historically, it’s had a high transit rate of heroin coming from the Southeast.
“Compared to other parts of the Mediterranean, the eastern side has seen a sharp increase in transnational drug flows, and Cyprus is right at the centre of that.
“Being the first European country you hit coming from the South East, Cyprus naturally becomes a transit route.”
Dark side of ‘party capital’
Cyprus has been a much-loved holiday destination for Brits for many years, with areas such as Larnaca, Nicosia, and Famagusta welcoming 1.3 million English tourists in 2023.
Hotspots such as Paphos offer great nightlife for younger Brits, while Ayia Napa is dubbed the island’s “party capital”.
When crime groups bring drugs into holiday spots, they rely on “legitimate” local business owners who are either in on the scheme or bribed to look away.
Ordinary people facing debt are also roped in as intermediaries, paid handsomely to receive and shift cocaine packages.
But when the drugs are eventually sold to tourists, they can have devastating consequences.
A 25-year-old Brit, Manraj Singh Sidhu, was jailed for a year after a Cypriot court found him guilty of the hit-and-run death of Swedish tourist Camilla Christina Pamdahl, 46.
The court heard how Sidhu, from Hertfordshire, was high on drink and drugs when he ploughed a rented beach buggy into the mum-of-one in May 2022.
As one local resident said: “Cyprus is known for its beaches and nightlife, but it’s also becoming known for drugs, drink and reckless behaviour. These cases are tragic reminders of that.”
Organised drug crime analysts told The Sun: “At the end of the high tourist season, we see a real influx of Western Europeans – particularly from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and the UK. With them, they bring their habits.
“June, July and August are peak months. Every year, drug consumption shoots up because of the sheer number of tourists here.
“You always have to understand Cyprus’ drug problem through a seasonal lens – it fluctuates with the tourist calendar.”
Turning a blind eye
Amid the carnage, the mayor of Paphos has accused authorities of turning a blind eye, not only to the island’s devastating drug trade but also to money laundering schemes.
He claims narcotics distribution centres are springing up unchecked, while evidence suggests Mexican and Latin American cartels are funnelling their cocaine profits through Cyprus-based foreign exchange firms.
The mayor cryptically suggested that there are six kingpins on the island but failed to elaborate.
He said: “Cops know who the kingpins are.
“Not enough is being done to resolve this problem. Our economy will suffer greatly if these thugs aren’t tackled and rooted out.
“It is the job of the police and the government to protect society.
“Yet these six drug kingpins are allowed to continue working and legalising hundreds of thousands of euros of their illicitly gotten gains every month through the Cyprus economy and bank system.
“Cops have to take on these criminals head-on. They have to stop trying to get information from the underworld because, at the end of the day, it is the underworld that uses them.”
Robert Ismay, 37, a former professional boxer who masterminded a cocaine conspiracy, was extradited from Cyprus and jailed[/caption]
Police say one drug ring was shifting cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine in bulk[/caption]
During raids, they seized 6.3 kilograms of cannabis[/caption]
Phedon Phedonos, the mayor of Paphos, says the island is in trouble[/caption]
While taking on the island’s criminal gangs, the mayor says he also received threats, forcing police to ramp up security around him.
Phedon added that both local and international criminals are free to exploit weak points such as ports, the postal system and the UN-controlled buffer zone.
The UN Buffer Zone, also known as the Green Line, is a UN-patrolled demilitarised zone established in 1964 that divides the island between the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north.
He warned that the trade is not just passing through but generating “tens of millions” in local turnover.
He said: “Cyprus works as a hub for drugs being trafficked from the Middle East.
“They move through Cyprus, via the port of Limassol, from Lebanon and countries that produce them, like Pakistan and India, and they end up in Holland.”
On the island itself, a 23-year-old man was nabbed at Larnaca airport in September 2024, in a sprawling drugs case that’s already seen four others dragged before the courts.
The Italian, who had flown in from Bangkok, was found with 45 vacuum-sealed packages containing 26kg of cannabis.
Police say the network was shifting cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine in bulk.
During raids, they seized 6.3 kilograms of cannabis, almost a kilo of resin, 713 grams of meth, 93 grams of cocaine and hundreds of hand-rolled joints.
When officers had stormed an apartment, they uncovered a stash worth a small fortune.
Since then, suspects as young as 20 have been lined up in court on trafficking charges, with cops warning the net is still widening.
The drug underworld has also exposed unlikely names in unlikely places.
Records show Mark Chikarovski – the son of former New South Wales Liberal Party leader Kerry Chikarovski – was tied to a Cyprus bank account through a shadowy offshore firm.
Chikarovski, known online as “AusCokeKing”, flogged cocaine, MDMA and meth on the dark web, advertising “premium European imports” and even offering a “spring sale” to lure buyers.
He was eventually caught red-handed in Bondi Junction, stuffing drugs into an Australia Post envelope while wearing blue latex gloves.
Police seized two Porsche SUVs, $20,000 in cash and nearly $270,000 in crypto, exposing a lavish lifestyle funded by narcotics.
But what shocked investigators most was the money trail.
But the lively island is finding itself struggling to combat the extreme levels of drug distribution[/caption]
Mark Chikarovski sold huge quantities of cocaine and other drugs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency[/caption]
A former Australian political leader’s son convicted of supplying narcotics and prescription drugs[/caption]
Chikarovski was linked to a shell company that not only operated in the UAE and Seychelles, but also held a bank account in Cyprus.
Another operation exposed a former pro boxer who masterminded a multi-million-pound cocaine plot and was extradited from Cyprus and jailed.
Brit Robert Ismay, 37, was the ringleader of a conspiracy that saw more than 20 kilos of Class A drugs pumped into the North East between March and September 2020.
He was caught trying to flee through Larnaca International Airport last December before being hauled back to the UK with help from the National Crime Agency.
At Newcastle Crown Court, Ismay was caged for 16 years and four months, while sidekicks Shaun Holywell, 33, and Thomas Blythe, 31, were handed 11 years and eight months and five years and seven months respectively.
Cops revealed Holywell helped store and buy cocaine, as well as handle the dirty cash, while Blythe was nabbed with more than two kilos of the drug at his home in March 2021.
Holidaymakers have been issued multiple warnings from the UK government about the island’s spiralling drug culture.
The Foreign Office says: “If you are caught with any type of narcotic, you will receive either a prison sentence or a hefty fine. The rules against possession of illegal drugs are stricter than in the UK.”
The message is blunt: while Brits may think doing drugs in Ayia Napa is harmless fun, in Cyprus, the penalties are brutal.
Use of controlled drugs is a criminal offence punishable by up to life imprisonment, the law states.
Phedonos finally warns that if Cyprus fails to act, the island risks being remembered less for its beaches and nightlife and more for becoming Europe’s newest cartel safe haven.
For now, Cyprus is still a holiday hotspot for millions of Brits each year[/caption]
If Cyprus fails to act, the island risks being remembered less for its beaches and nightlife, and more for becoming Europe’s newest cartel safe haven[/caption]
Cyprus welcomes around 4million tourists on average each year[/caption]
