Evidence related to 1,184 cases investigated in recent years by the district units of the Drug Law Enforcement Unit (Ykan) in Cyprus was destroyed this year, police said on Saturday.

It said that behind every case of drug trafficking or illegal anabolic substances, there is a final stage that few people know about, adding that this is the moment when the case is definitively closed: the destruction of the evidence.

“This is a fully institutionalised, transparent and controlled process that marks the definitive end of a criminal procedure, from the seizure of the illegal substances to the court’s decision,” police said, adding that the journey of each substance begins the moment it is seized.

Police officers receive it, seal it, and meticulously record all of its details, the service emphasised.

From that point on, according to police, the evidence is sent to the State Laboratory, where it is examined and the type and exact quantity are confirmed. It is then sealed again and stored until it is officially presented before court as evidence.

“Only when all legal procedures are completed, when no legal remedies are pending, do we proceed to its destruction,” police added.