Drugs found in passenger's luggage

A young foreigner was remanded in custody yesterday after the police and Customs officers discovered about one kilo of heroin and another of cocaine hidden in a piece of luggage at the airport on Monday.

Police Inspector Dennis Theuma told the court the drugs were found wrapped in carbon paper, which stops a scanner's rays, beneath thick cardboard at the bottom of luggage carried by Gabriel Alin Fister, a 25-year-old Romanian living in Germany.

He said the police and Customs officers had been monitoring the passengers of a flight from Amsterdam. Their suspicions were aroused by dark patches on the scanner's monitor when the man's luggage was passed through. When they removed all items, they realised the bag was still too heavy.

Mr Fister's lawyer asked for bail because the unemployed foreigner, who did not have the necessary documents to work in Germany, was not aware of the drugs in his luggage and cooperated with the police.

The prosecuting officer objected strongly, saying the man did not have a local address and could easily leave the country.

Magistrate Silvio Meli denied Mr Fister bail and remanded him in custody.

Earlier in the day, the police said they had arrested two men who were to receive the drugs from another person. Both from the Ivory Coast, the men are a 27-year-old living in Żabbar and a 30-year-old who resides in Qawra, in whose house about 80 grams of heroin and other related material were allegedly found.

kbugeja@timesofmalta.com