Men who imported "soap" granted bail

Four men who imported soap which they thought was cannabis were this morning granted bail by Magistrate Miriam Hayman.

The men, Rupert Busuttil, 34, Carmelo Borg, 31, Marvin Debono, 22, and Paul Azzopardi, 39, were given bail against a deposit of €23,293 each and a personal guarantee of €46,586.

The magistrate said she was granting the men bail after taking into consideration that the majority of witnesses had been heard and that the haul had been soap.

The men stand charged with conspiring to import cannabis. They were caught after the police swooped on a yacht on December 28 after receiving information about the place where the "drugs" were meant be dropped off.

The accused had left the area with what they thought was cannabis.