Customs officers seized alcoholic drinks and two pistols from a Maltese man who had just arrived by catamaran from Pozzallo late on Thursday evening.

The officers became suspicious when they saw two large reinforced bags being carried by the man and he was stopped as he entered the terminal.

A spokesman for the Customs Department said a search of the bags produced 120 bottles of whisky and vodka, two pistols, and a frame press, a piece of equipment used to load cartridges.

Three bullets were also found when the man's clothes were searched.

The spokesman said that although importation of such quantities of alcohol is allowed, particularly if it is brought over for private consumption, the bottles were confiscated because they should be declared to the Customs officers. In this case they were not.

The pistols, the frame press and the bullets were handed over to the police for further investigation.