Three men face drug trafficking charges

Three men were arraigned in court yesterday afternoon in connection with two drug hauls last Thursday.

In the fist case, Duncan Scerri, 31 of Salina, and Walid Laouini, a 28-year-old Tunisian who lives in St Paul's Bay, were charged with cocaine and heroin trafficking before Magsitrate Anthony Vella.

Both pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them; however, following a request by the defence, the case was heard behind closed doors.

The police said on Friday that they had seized close to a kilo of cocaine from two men, a Maltese and a Tuinisian, after searching their vehicle at the Luxol grounds at the conclusion of an operation that had been going on for several weeks.

The bust took place on Thursday evening just an hour before another significant find at Malta International Airport. In fact, the second case involved the arraignment of Bedredeen Elghangha, a 23-year-old Libyan.

According to the police, he was flying in from Tunisia carrying a case with a false bottom in which there was a kilo and a half of heroin of very high purity.

Customs said an assistant became suspicious and held the passenger before he entered the arrivals lounge. His luggage was then X-rayed. The drug was mixed with coffee in an attempt to mislead sniffer dogs but the police were called and took the passenger and the luggage to their headquarters for further investigation.

All three men were remanded in custody after they were denied bail. Inspectors Dennis Theuma and Nadia Lanzon prosecuted.