Josette Bickle, 41, who was jailed for 12 years for trafficking drugs in prison, has died.

Described during her jury as 'queen of the prisons', Ms Bickle was administered CPR at the prisons after suffering from severe shortness of breath.

In a statement this morning, the director of prisons said that Ms Bickle was taken to hospital at around 7 a.m. She died in hospital at 7.35 a.m.

A relative, howeverm, told timesofmalta.com Ms Bickle died in prison.

In December, Ms Bickle had appealed her sentence, claiming that the prosecution's case was based on the evidence of four witnesses who had been 'blatantly and manifestly lying'.

She had also been fined €23,000 after the jurors heard how, in another prison term, she trafficked drugs and treated other prisoners as her slaves.

The trial was also told that she had four television sets and a sound surround system in her cell.