Customs officers seized almost 170 kilograms of tobacco and 10,000 cigarettes from a Libyan vessel upon its arrival in Malta from Tripoli on Thursday.

The discovery was made after an inspection of the ship’s documents.

The captain, Libyan national Jamal Saleh Sabai, 43, admitted to the “genuine mistake” and to attempting to get out of paying just over €5,200 in duty and almost €3,500 in Value Added Tax.

The captain of MV Shada, which has an 18-strong crew, failed to declare that he was importing some 10,000 Oris Slims cigarettes and 168 kilograms of shisha tobacco.

According to law, he would have to pay a €47,300 fine, equivalent to three times the value of the seized items.

Mr Sabai’s lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, said his client was admitting his mistake and knew that this was one of the consequences.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, who heard Mr Sabai plead guilty to the charges brought against him, put off the case till Friday to give a court-appointed expert time to estimate the value of the seized vessel.

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