Two men were yesterday charged with trafficking 22 kilograms of cannabis resin in one of the biggest drug hauls of the last few years.
Police Inspector Herman Mula said the haul was the largest this year and one of the most significant in recent years.
Stephen Portelli, a 37-year-old construction worker from Tarxien, and Paul Farrugia, a 31-year-old unemployed man from Xgħajra, both pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the find.
Their request for bail was rejected after the court deemed their offences to be too serious and they were remanded in custody.
Mr Portelli was the first to be charged. Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard that, on Friday, the Drug Squad and the Rapid Intervention Unit seized the substance from the back of his Jeep after he was stopped as he was driving out of Delimara, in the limits of Marsaxlokk.
He had been observed collecting something from the bay.
The court deemed their offences to be too serious
Mr Portelli was charged with conspiring to traffic in cannabis resin, being in possession of the substance in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use and committing the crime while under a suspended sentence.
Mr Farrugia, arrested 24 hours after Mr Portelli, was charged with conspiring to sell the drug, trafficking it and relapsing following prior non-drug related offences. The prosecution objected to his request for bail, pointing out that although he was not found with the drug in his possession, he was connected with the haul and had contacted Mr Portelli while at sea.
Insp. Mula said Mr Farrugia had strong contacts with foreign drug traffickers.
The court ordered the seizure of the assets of the two accused. Lawyer Roberto Montalto ap-peared for both of them.
Recent significant drug finds include the seizure of 20 kilos of cannabis and cocaine from a locked vehicle inside the Portomaso car park in St Julian’s in January last year. Two men were arraigned.
In the same month, the police seized 10 kilograms of cannabis, 15 kilograms of cannabis resin and a kilogram of cocaine in an operation in which it also confiscated vehicles and a considerable amount of cash. A 36-year-old Sicilian who lives in Swieqi was arrested in that case.
Last June, two men were taken to court after the police discovered some 18 kilograms of cannabis resin in a picnic cooler on a fishing boat. Four people were arrested in September when 18 kilos of cannabis grass were seized from them.