Two drug mules, a Pole and a Spaniard, were yesterday jailed for a total of 19 years between them, after admitting to drug-related charges at the start of the trial by jury against them.

Polish national Edward Artur Story pleaded guilty to the importation of 859.5 grams of heroin with a street value of some €63,000 on May 6, 2012.

He admitted to having conspired with other people, particularly in the Netherlands, to import drugs into Malta for a remuneration of €3,000. But on his arrival in Malta from Dusseldorf, he was stopped by the police and admitted that he was carrying the drugs in 88 capsules inside his body.

He admitted to the charges and was sentenced to nine years in jail and fined €23,000.

In the second case, Spanish national Josè Manuel Domingo Benito was jailed for 10 years and also fined €23,000 after admitting to drug trafficking.

He had been arrested in October 2012 after police raided his St Julian’s hotel room and found a “heavy but empty suitcase” containing just over a kilogram of cocaine, worth almost €87,000.

A jar of tobacco mixed with marijuana was also found by the police, who acted after they had arrested a Nigerian man on his arrival to Malta. Had the men not admitted their guilt, they would have been tried by a jury and faced a possible life sentence.