A drug courier who was arrested on Monday on his arrival from Rome yesterday admitted to importing more than 800 grams of cocaine.

Iancuba Balde, 24, from the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa, lived in Portugal before travelling to Brazil to pick up the cocaine, a drug that has become synonymous with that country.

As he walked through the “nothing to declare” blue channel at Malta International Airport, Mr Balde was stopped by Customs officers who searched his bag and found nothing. But when they carried out a body search, the officers found 13 capsules in his underwear and when the police took him to hospital, they found he had swallowed about 78 capsules containing the drug.

On his arraignment yesterday, Mr Balde admitted to conspiring to import, importing and possessing the drug in circumstances denoting it was not for his exclusive use.

He stood in the dock with brown duct tape wrapped tightly around his ankles over his trousers in the event any remaining capsules he had swallowed were released.

Police Inspector Pierre Grech told Magistrate Anthony Vella the accused was being kept in hospital to ensure that any capsules left in his stomach could be removed safely.

Legal aid lawyer Mark Anthony Cutajar said his client had fully cooperated with the police and intended helping in their investigations in the future.

At this point, Mr Balde, through his interpreter, said he wanted to cooperate and noted he had actually signed his statement to the police as proof of this. The magistrate informed him he would not be sentenced immediately as the compilation of evidence would have to be carried out first according to law.

Mr Balde was taken back to hospital following the arraignment.

A Nigerian man, Augustine Onuchukwu, 49, was last week jailed for 15 years for his part in the importation of 76 capsules of heroin and the drug courier in the same case, Efosa Efionayi, 28, was jailed for 11 years after admitting to the crime.