Actor Dušan Cinkota, who absconded after having a sentence of eight years in prison for serious drugs crimes confirmed earlier this month, handed himself into police early on Monday, December 17, the TASR newswire reported, citing Banská Bystrica regional police spokesperson Mária Faltániová.
Cinkota was arrested during a police raid in May 2007 on a flat in the Bratislava borough of Dúbravka. The actor was caught shortly after buying six syringes of pervitin (metamphetamine) that would normally have been enough for 200 doses. He claimed in his defence that he had been acting as a police agent and had bought the drugs after being ordered to do so by police officers with whom he was co-operating. This was denied by Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar, and Cinkota's claim was rejected by both the courts that dealt with his case – the Bratislava IV District Court and the Bratislava Regional Court, to which the actor appealed.
Cinkota, 42, did not attend the court session on December 5 that confirmed his conviction and sentencing, and his whereabouts were unknown until he reported himself to the authorities. The verdict triggered a petition, launched by fellow actor Andrej Hryc and since signed by thousands of people, asking President Ivan Gašparovič to pardon Cinkota. The actor's sentence reflected a previous conviction on drugs offences.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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