A 47-year-old Italian woman was arrested at Larnaca airport on Saturday attempting to smuggle more than 17kg of cannabis into the island.

During an X-ray examination of her luggage, suspicions about their contents arose. A subsequent physical inspection revealed that she was carrying a total of 17.6 kg of the drug.

According to police, the woman had first departed from Madrid, travelling to Belgrade before eventually arriving in Cyprus.

The arrest was carried out after a joint operation by the drug squad (Ykan) and the customs authorities.

The passenger was arrested on the spot and the narcotics were confiscated.

Both the suspect and the drugs were later handed over to Ykan for further investigation.