Updated 4.26pm - Two men this afternoon pleaded not guilty after being accused in court of smuggling a large quantity of cigarettes after emptying a container at Malta Freeport.

Roderick Borg, 32 of Qormi and Sebastian Zammit, 60 of Safi, were remanded in custody after being accused of contraband of 10.5million cigarettes. Mr Zammit is a customs officer and Mr Borg is a freeport employee. 

The cigarettes carried excise duty of €2.2 million.

Earlier, the government said the police had made arrests as part of investigations into the disappearance and return of a container from Malta Freeport.

The government in a late-night statement said that according to a report received by the authorities, the container was shipped to Malta on July 24 and it was unloaded to a truck. 

Yet the container was then put back in its place, seals and all after having been taken out of the freepport.

The container is now being held by the police.