A 25-year-old US citizen was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Thursday by the Paphos criminal court for attempting to smuggle 24 kilograms of cannabis into the Republic.

She was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a felony, illegal importation of drugs, illegal possession of drugs and possession with intent to supply.

The woman was arrested at Paphos airport on August 10, after officers discovered 40 packages of cannabis in her luggage. She had arrived in Cyprus on a flight from the United Kingdom and was stopped during a joint inspection carried out by the customs department and the police drug squad, Ykan.