Giorgos Christodoulou, known as “Zavrantonas”, pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing and trafficking over 15kg of cocaine during a Nicosia criminal court hearing on Tuesday. The offences allegedly occurred in Nicosia on January 16, 2019. The court scheduled the case's continuation for June 29 and 30.

The court also dismissed a defence request related to documents about key prosecution witness Yiannis Andreou, confirming that the defence had already examined the relevant materials. Defence lawyer Christos Poutziouris announced intentions to seek the return of evidence submitted during the overturned previous trial.

Christodoulou remains in custody as the retrial proceeds after the appeals court quashed his earlier 22-year sentence due to a miscarriage of justice linked to the criminal court's composition. The original trial included disputes over the witness's treatment, which the criminal court previously rejected.