Customs officers seized 1.4 tonnes of khat, the same weight as a Ford Transit van, over the past 12 months, documents seen by this newspaper show.
The sub-Saharan psychoactive shrub, favoured for its cheap price (€2 per bundle) and amphetamine-like effects, was discovered more than a dozen times by Customs officers at the airport and the Freeport and was the most common drug to be discovered over the period under review.
Drug expert Mario Mifsud told Times of Malta the substance was normally smuggled in via Malta International Airport in large packages wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed into suitcases. These would normally be flown from North Africa to the UK before being later smuggled to Malta for sale among the local migrant community.
Items confiscated range from illegal weapons to protected reptiles and even large fishing vessels
Khat, however, was not the only drug to be seized by Customs.
The authorities also confiscated 2.6 kilos of cocaine, estimated at €156,000, and about €200,000 worth of ecstasy pills, all of which were taken to the national incinerator and destroyed.
A breakdown of Customs operations over the past 12 months reveals that the items confiscated are many and varied, ranging from illegal weapons to protected reptiles and even large fishing vessels.
Inquires and tip-offs led to the confiscation of about 27 million smuggled cigarettes and nearly 30 kilos of water pipe tobacco, 11 kilos of chewing tobacco, 600 cigars and just shy of 400 boxes of cigarette filters.
When it came to more sinister discoveries, the authorities found a dozen brass knuckles, four large slingshots, a Taser gun, two extended flick knives and five cans of pepper spray.
Two jet skis and two large fishing vessels, which had not been registered in Malta, also feature in the list of items seized by Customs.
Hobbies also had a bearing on illegal imports. Customs officers uncovered more than 550 song birds used as live decoys by trappers. The birds – hawfinches, green finches and chaffinches – were discovered in wooden boxes disguised as orange containers in a van arriving from Sicily.
Last month, Times of Malta reported that the price of illegally-traded birds had nearly tripled after the government hunting consultative body recommended reopening the autumn trapping season.
Other Maltese hobbyists which were likely affected by Customs activities included fireworks aficionados. The authorities found some 1,490 boxes of illegal fireworks and related equipment that were smuggled in through the Freeport.
Twelve stuffed birds, 20 tortoise and 26 protected terrapins were also seized.
For those hoping to buy a gift on the sly, smugglers were also found with 50 counterfeit wrist watches and some three kilos of undeclared gold and silver jewellery.
In fact, counterfeit goods were the most common goods to be seized by the authorities, who uncovered 210,000 pairs of fake sports shoes, 140,000 copied gaming controllers, 20 copycat MP3 players and 19,000 fake mobile phones.