In the ongoing trial of Giorgos ‘Zavrantonas’ Christodoulou on Tuesday, the defence suggested that the quantity of narcotics presented as evidence is not the same as that seized by police during a raid taking place in early 2019.

Christodoulou is on trial before Nicosia criminal court, facing charges of importing 15kg of cocaine with intent to sell.

The case is being re-tried after the appeals court overturned his December 2022 conviction which sentenced him to 22 years in prison. The appeals court had ordered the case to be retried from scratch.

In January 2019, following surveillance, police arrested two men – Yiannis Andreou and Aristos Kyprianou – at Andreou’s residence in Lakatamia.

At the time police found and confiscated an army-style duffel bag containing around 15kg of cocaine. The narcotics were found inside Kyprianou’s car, parked outside Andreou’s residence. Andreou later named Christodoulou as the mastermind and the person who smuggled the drugs into Cyprus.

Testifying in court on Tuesday was an employee of the state lab, brought on as a witness for the prosecution.

She had analysed the seized narcotics brought to the state lab by the police.

The witness said there were 14 packages, all containing cocaine, with a total net weight of 15kg. The analysis indicated South America as the provenance of the cocaine.

The cocaine was on average around 75 per cent pure. The witness said this was the usual purity observed in similar cases, ranging from 75 to 85 per cent.

The witness added that no analysis was done for any other banned substances or additives for the samples in question.

Under cross-examination by Christodoulou’s lawyer, she was asked if she could specify where the substances were manufactured. The witness said she could not.

Before the samples were brought to the state lab, they had undergone DNA analysis at the Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

Asked if the state lab could determine the time of manufacturing/packaging, the witness said no.

At this point, the defence attorney submitted that the quantity of cocaine brought to the state lab was not the same as that inside the duffel bag seized by the police.

Responding, the witness said only that the items were sealed.

The attorney next referred to two scales found with traces of cocaine and cannabis, which may point to previous samples being used. The witness said it was possible.

Lead prosecutor Vasilis Bissas then informed the court that they wished to add two individuals to the witness list. The defence did not object. That will bring the number of prosecution witnesses to 22.

The court set the next hearings for July 30 and July 31.