GROWING POLICE CONCERN OVER DRUGS PROBLEM

Police admitted yesterday they were extremely concerned about the growing
drugs problem in Cyprus, with heroin use on the island rising at an
alarming rate.

Police Commandant Sotiris Tryfonos said yesterday it had not yet been
proved if the two men who died over the weekend had been killed by a heroin
overdose or a doctored dose of the drug.

"There is as yet no scientific proof or conclusive findings to reach an
accurate cause of death. We do know that the two men were heroin users, so
it is suspected that they died of the drug. We must, however, wait for the
results," said Tryfonos.

Tryfonos said he was extremely concerned about the current drugs situation
in Cyprus, with statistics showing a sharp increase in the number of heroin
users on the island. "We have recorded a rise in drug-related arrests in
the last two years and feel the main problem is that people are not well
enough informed about the dangers of the highly addictive, poisonous
narcotic," said Tryfonos.

The police commandant said even though the police were doing all they could
to prevent, help and lessen (if not eliminate) drug use, it was a worldwide
phenomenon, which had now caught up with Cyprus, which until a few years
ago appeared to be safe from the epidemic. Police now make drugs related
arrests on a daily basis.

"Unfortunately, drug abuse is something we cannot avoid. Twenty or 30 years
ago young kids used to smoke cigarettes to be cool. Now, however, they are
tempted by hard drugs heroin, ecstasy and cocaine," he said.

Tryfonos stressed the importance of families and schools playing an active
part in youngsters' lives to educate and inform them on the dangers of
drugs. He added that most drugs-related arrests of youngsters (although not
all) involved people from broken homes or who were uneducated about drugs.

"But don't be fooled into thinking that only youngsters from poor or broken
homes will be lured into taking drugs. It is all about parents being
present, who play an active role in their children's lives," said Tryfonos.

The drugs problem in Cyprus has yet to reach the international scale, as
seen in other larger countries. "In other countries, hundreds of people die
every day from drugs," said Tryfonos.

"It is unavoidable that someone using heroin for a long period of time will
eventually become dependent on the drug and die, unless they seek help," he
said, either through an OD, an impure dose or from withdrawal symptoms,
which could cause heart failure.

Tryfonos stressed that his intention was not to terrify people or use scare
tactics to keep youngsters away from drugs, but simply to tell the truth.
"Taking heroin is a one-way road with no return."

Police have been campaigning to reduce the number of heroin users and catch
the big fish, the dealers responsible for supplying people with the
potentially lethal drug. "We want to educate people on the dangers of drugs
and we aim to put away dealers who make a living out of poisoning others,"
said Tryfonos.

When arresting heroin users, police rarely put them behind bars. Tryfonos
said police viewed drug addicts as people who were ill and needed
treatment. "We get them the best help we can, by getting them into a
rehabilitation programme."

Tryfonos explained that it was their job, however, to arrest anyone who
broke the law, and since heroin was an illegal drug the users must be taken
to court.

Most heroin users are between the age of 20 and 35. "We do get the odd
teenager who injects heroin, but rarely."

Justice Minister Doros Theodorou on Tuesday stated that the main drug
dealers were known by the police and were being monitored.

Health Minister Dina Akkelidou said on Tuesday that drugs experts would be
arriving in Cyprus from Greece later in the year to help clamp down on the
drugs problem plaguing the island.

According to Akkelidou the government's goal is to force society into
accepting there is a drugs problem in Cyprus. "Drugs concern everyone and
every parent's children," said Akkelidou.

The establishment of a rehabilitation clinic for minors is on the cards,
but Akkelidou said there was not enough nursing staff and it has not yet
been determined whether it would be an outpatient clinic or not.

This is why the experts are coming to Cyprus to study all the facts and
make suggestions. The experts will also inspect the current clinics, Anosi
in Limassol and Pyxida in Nicosia.