Drugs found hidden in decorative candles

A 61-year-old man from Hamrun but residing in St Julians is expected to be charged in court after he was allegedly found in possession of a kilogramme of cocaine and some cannabis at Malta International Airport on Monday night.

The drugs were found in a joint operation by Customs officials and the police soon after the man's arrival from Amsterdam at about 11 p.m.

The drugs were found hidden in two decorative candles.

The police said the Drug Squad had been monitoring the movements of a number of individuals who were suspected of being involved in the importation of cocaine from Holland.

The Customs Department said its officials stopped the suspect and asked him to place his luggage on the X-ray machine as he was going through the Blue Exit, reserved for passengers arriving from an EU country. The officials noted suspicious objects inside the luggage, the items that mostly aroused their suspicion being decorative candles.

It was when the Customs men broke the candles that they found a piece of cannabis weighing 20 grammes in one and six pieces of cocaine in another candle. In all they weighed about one kilogramme.

Police Inspector Norbert Ciappara is investigating.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi appointed a team of experts to help in an inquiry.