Two Nigerians and a Maltese woman were charged with the importation of four kilos of cannabis, which were found hidden close to the engine of a car arriving from Sicily by catamaran on Thursday night.
The discovery was made by Customs officials during an inspection on the vehicle, which belonged to the 41-year-old Rita Scicluna, from Luqa. The woman was accompanied by her 14-month daughter. Further investigations revealed that her Nigerian husband was waiting for her.
Osaro Osarenkhoe, 27, Nicholas Obaseki, 28 and his Maltese wife denied all charges.
While the two men were denied bail, the court presided by Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit acceded to the woman’s request on humanitarian grounds to be able to look after her baby. Ms Scicluna was granted bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €15,000.
Police inspectors Gabriel Micallef prosecuted while lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel for the couple, while Dr Francine Abela appeared for Mr Osaro.