A Ghanaian man allegedly caught with a kilo of cannabis resin in his backpack on his arrival from Sicily is pleading not guilty to drug trafficking.

Sampson Twene, 20, who resides in Sicily, appeared in court yesterday charged with conspiring to sell the drug, importing it and being in possession of the substance not for personal use.

Mr Twene, who was travelling alone, was arrested on Friday night as he disembarked from the catamaran that had just arrived from Sicily. Police officers from the drugs squad were carrying out random checks on passengers.

Mr Twene’s lawyer, Roberto Montalto, said that, at this stage, his client was filing a not guilty plea in order to be able to challenge the Attorney General’s discretion to refer the case to trial before the criminal court.

His arrest led to an intense police investigation, which also resulted in the arraignment of a Gambian man who was held on Saturday afternoon in Sliema.

Omar Bah, 29, also pleaded not guilty to conspiring to sell the drugs when he appeared before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti yesterday afternoon.

I certainly did not own all this stuff

Mr Bah, who resides in Sliema, told the court he only had “small quantities” adding he certainly did not own “all this stuff”. Magistrate Grixti warned Mr Bah to watch his words. Both men were remanded in preventive custody.

Police Inspectors Pierre Grech and Malcolm Bondin prosecuted.

A Nigerian man who lives in Italy was last month charged with the importation of 1.2 kilos of cannabis that was allegedly found hidden in a false bottom of his luggage.

He too was arrested after stepping off the catamaran.

A Sicilian man was arrested in October after the police allegedly found four kilograms of cannabis grass in the compartment of his car’s spare tyre.

In this case too, he had just arrived in Malta from Sicily on board the catamaran.