Today’s Cyprus Mail reports that “A Turkish Cypriot was arrested on Friday night at the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint after he was found attempting to smuggle to the south a total of 14.3kg of rolling tobacco, 6,000 cigarette packs, and a quantity of veterinary drugs”. We had been joking about border checks when returning from the North on Thursday. We had confessed to fruit and veg from the market, which didn’t interest the border official at all. Did we have alcohol or tobacco? No. Have no idea how many cigarettes are legal but apparently one litre of booze is the limit, though most liquor is actually cheaper in the South, so temptation must be limited.
About a year ago there were charges over someone crossing with a sack full of live snails, apparently for the restaurant trade. Again, wouldn’t have been tempted, but would have had no idea that snails were verboten. They are on sale live at the market in Famagusta (as they are in markets in the South) so we could in all innocence have picked them up along with the tomatoes and oranges. Is it quantity that made the sackful illegal or simply the fact that they were live? Also a year or two back someone was arrested for smuggling a man across in the trunk of his car. Much harder to explain away or claim to have forgotten about. But also odd. The border is marked and lightly patrolled, but as Bill says there must be plenty of rural places where one would stand good odds of crossing unnoticed, especially at night.
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