Crime
Twenty-six arrests as police target drug networks in four districts
Operation Plegma followed a February seizure in Nicosia that led officers to 167kg of cannabis and 62kg of cocaine. Police also froze property and cash, later valued at around €750,000.
Police arrested 26 people on Thursday in a nationwide operation against suspected drug trafficking networks. The operation, codenamed Plegma, was coordinated by the newly established Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and involved 27 court-authorised searches in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta, as well as in cells at the Central Prisons.
Those arrested are being investigated for offences including supply and possession of Class A and Class B drugs, possession with intent to supply, participation in a criminal organisation, conspiracy to commit a felony, money laundering, illegal possession of explosives, and distributing pharmaceutical products without a licence. Police described them as suspected of involvement in offences under investigation. None has been named, and under Cypriot law they are presumed innocent unless a court convicts them.
How the case began
The operation followed an investigation that started in February after a Drug Law Enforcement Unit operation in Nicosia district. On 19 February, officers stopped a vehicle carrying two people and found 11,480 firecrackers, along with quantities of cannabis and cocaine in the possession of one of them.
Searches of a home and premises linked to the driver then uncovered 167kg of cannabis, 62kg of cocaine, 4.5kg of cannabis resin, firearms, explosive devices, cash and electronic cigarettes believed to contain narcotic substances. Five people are already in custody in that case.
Police said the evidence gathered over the following months pointed to wider connections, which led to Thursday’s action. Cyprus Mail, citing police sources, reported that four of the 26 had been arrested earlier in the investigation and that five were inmates at the Central Prisons.
What was seized
During the searches, police said they found €25,025 in cash, 37 mobile phones, a pistol, a hunting shotgun, about 10g of cocaine and a small quantity of cannabis. Officers also seized 13 rounds of ammunition, 534 shotgun cartridges, eight precision scales, 354 firecrackers, 456 flares, 22 fireworks, 192 pyrotechnic devices and two smoke bombs.
The money trail
Working with the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (Mokas), police obtained court orders freezing a house, plots of land and vehicles, including 10 cars and two motorcycles, with an estimated value of about €400,000. A further €100,000 in cash has been frozen, bringing the total to around €500,000.
The force said the financial investigation is now a core part of its approach, with the aim of removing the assets that allow organised groups to keep operating. It said the Motorised Immediate Action Unit took part in Thursday’s operation and that more are planned.
Update, 5 November
Christos Andreou, head of the Organised Crime Combating Directorate, said later on Thursday that the amount frozen in bank accounts had risen from €100,000 to €350,000. With the seized property and vehicles still estimated at about €400,000, the total value of frozen assets and funds now stands at €750,000.
What it means for you
An arrest is the start of a case, not a verdict. None of the 26 people arrested on Thursday has been convicted in connection with the operation, and any charges would still have to be proved in court.
Sources (3)
- Cyprus Police, Επιχείρηση «ΠΛΕΓΜΑ», 5 November 2026 . Official police statement with the arrests, searches, seizures and freezing orders.
- Cyprus Mail, 26 arrested in major Cyprus police operation targeting organised crime networks, 5 November 2026
- Politis, Operation Plegma: Seized assets in Cyprus organised crime probe reach €750,000, 5 November 2026 . Interviews the head of the Organised Crime Combating Directorate on the revised frozen amount.