Three to be charged after cannabis plants find

Three men were expected to be arraigned in connection with drug offences after a considerable find of cannabis plants at a Zejtun residence yesterday, the police said.

Two of the men, a 35-year-old from Zejtun and a 30-year-old from Marsascala, were arrested by drug squad police yesterday morning.

Police sources said the two men were seen entering a house in St Peter Street, Zejtun.

The third man, a 31-year-old from Hamrun, was arrested a few hours later in the vicinity after being found to be in possession of cannabis seeds.

The sources said the three arrests were connected.

The police had been keeping the area under surveillance. The house where the plants were found is uninhabited.

The police sources said about 125 plants, some of which were over three metres high, were found in pots and in the grounds of an internal courtyard.

A pistol was also found on the premises and there was evidence that the electricity meter had been tampered with.

The plants were uprooted by the police and handed over to court appointed expert Mario Mifsud.

The sources said the find was one of the largest involving cannabis plants.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima was informed and ordered an on site inquiry.

Inspector Neil Harrison is conducting investigations.