Appeals court upholds eight-year sentence for Limassol drug dealer

An appeals court in Cyprus has unanimously upheld an eight-year prison sentence for a 27-year-old man who supplied methamphetamine to four minors in Limassol. The court rejected an appeal filed by the Attorney General, who had argued that the original sentence imposed by the Assize Court was insufficient given the severity of the crimes.

Legal proceedings began after an investigation launched in April 2022, following reports from minors seeking rehabilitation. The defendant, who pleaded guilty, was convicted of possessing 0.08 grams of methamphetamine and supplying the substance on 13 separate occasions. Evidence revealed that he not only provided drugs to minors, including free samples, but also attempted to recruit them as collaborators to facilitate further drug sales to other children.

The three-judge panel acknowledged the extreme gravity of exploiting minors but ruled that the initial eight-year sentence was appropriate. The court noted that it could not impose a harsher sentence based on allegations of additional drug offenses that were not part of the formal conviction, maintaining that legal due process must be observed regarding the scope of charges.