A French man who visited Malta ready to embark on a scam which involves persuading victims to buy worthless pieces of paper was conditionally discharged after appearing in court yesterday.

Patric Sakso, 31, pleaded guilty to fraud when he arrived in Malta yesterday ready to set in place a fraudulent scheme referred to as the black money scam.

The scam involves con artists persuading a victim that piles of bank-note-sized paper in a container is cash. It was dyed black to avoid detection by the authorities. The victim is then persuaded to pay for chemicals to wash the “money”.

In a separate arraignment, 19-year-old Vladimir Repan from Slovakia pleaded guilty to conspiring to import and possession of heroin.

Mr Repan was arrested at the airport on Thursday evening carrying 800 grams of heroin in 80 capsules which were stashed in his luggage and his body.

He was sent to prison and judgement will be handed down shortly.