Maltese alleged cocaine dealer arrested in Brazil

A Maltese businessman and his girlfriend have been arrested by the Brazilian police after allegedly being caught red-handed packing five kilogrammes of cocaine into air conditioning units for export to the UK.

Duncan Petroni, 37, of Birkirkara and his Romanian partner Silvia Stanica, 29, were held on Thursday in Curitiba during a joint operation by the Brazilian Federal Police and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, said Marcos Coren, a spokesman for the Brazilian police.

The two are believed to be the leaders of a drug-trafficking ring that shipped drugs from Brazil to Europe and Malta.

Mr Coren told The Times that the shipment of drugs intercepted by the police was heading to the UK. The drug - pure, uncut cocaine - was packed in the compressors of air-conditioning units and was to be exported through normal legal channels by sea.

The two will remain under arrest until they are arraigned in about 50 days' time. Mr Coren said that, if found guilty, the pair faced between five and 15 years in prison.

Six Brazilians, suspected to form part of the ring, were also arrested during the operation. American and Brazilian police had been following the movements of the group for the past three months.

Mr Petroni was a frequent traveller to Brazil and the police confirmed that the last entry visa issued to him was from the Brazilian embassy in London.

When they raided the residence where the couple were handling the drug, they only had a temporary arrest warrant for Ms Stanica, not having enough proof to link her to the gang, the spokesman said. However, since she was caught in the act, her arrest warrant was stepped up to a preventive one, meaning she will be detained until she is arraigned.

Earlier this year, a Maltese court ordered Mr Petroni to pay €35,679 to two people who had acted as guarantors for a loan he had taken from APS Bank. Mr Petroni defaulted on the loan and the guarantors lost their money.

In the past, a company he holds shares in, Triton Investments, had also been ordered to pay €65,000 to Bank of Valletta.

Mr Petroni is well known to the Maltese police, sources said.

Ironically, Mr Petroni's favourite quote on his Facebook page, where he also boasts about his new luxurious Land Rover is: "Never attach anything to your heart 'cause the moment you feel heat round the corner you'll have to run away in 30 seconds".