A 67-year-old man from Mosta is being held by the Malta police in connection with the case of two Maltese youths held in a Tunisian jail after being allegedly caught trying to smuggle 70 kilograms of cannabis to Malta.

The parents of the accused were in Tunisia to try to speak to their children, Tunisian sources said.

Thomas Camilleri and Glenn Paul Xuereb, both 22, from Gżira and San Ġwann respectively, were arrested on July 14 after two Libyan men they were allegedly in cahoots with were apprehended and chose to cooperate with the police.

They were meant to return to Malta on July 18 but their families lost contact with them on the day of the arrest. When the families failed to hear from them and were unable to reach them on their mobile phones they raised the alarm on July 22 and contacted the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Although at first they were presumed missing, the two men were later located in a Tunisian prison, a day after they pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in court.

Their parents said they both have medical conditions which require treatment.The Maltese authorities have contacted Tunis to ask for permission to meet the men. However, nothing has yet been confirmed.

Penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs in Tunisia are severe and convicted offenders can expect to face long jail sentences and heavy fines.

In a similar case, Tano Farrugia, 32, who was allegedly caught trying to export some 50 kilograms of cannabis from Tunisia in January, is still awaiting trial and sources said he faces up to 30 years in prison.