The Maltese businessman who was arrested in Fiji after he was allegedly found in possession of pornographic movies and gallons of an illegal home-brewed alcohol beverage at his residence was named by The Fiji Times as Michael Fenech.

Mr Fenech resides in Fiji.

The Fiji Times reported on Tuesday that a "businessman from Malta" had been under surveillance by the police who, after a search at his Nadi home over the weekend, confiscated two 44-gallon containers of homebrew and 14 bottles of rum. Among other items allegedly found by the police were five pornographic movies believed to have been produced in Fiji, the paper reported.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said efforts were being made to establish who the person is and to obtain more details about the case.

So far, no relatives have contacted the Foreign Ministry in connection with the arrest, as usually happens when Maltese come across some sort of problem abroad, the spokesman said.