A man who had only been in Malta for the past three months was yesterday arraigned after being arrested on Saturday in a controlled delivery of cocaine in Sliema.

Nigerian national Stephen Ikechukwu Egbo, 32, yesterday denied conspiring to import about 600 grams of cocaine through a drug courier who landed on Friday evening, Police Inspector Dennis Theuma told the court.

The officer said that a controlled delivery was set up after a 24-year-old Romanian, Attila Somlya, was arrested at the airport coming off a flight from Dusseldorf with 60 capsules in his stomach.

In his statement, Mr Somlya told the police that this was not the first time he had come to Malta and on his first trip he had carried 24 capsules with the same drug and given them to Mr Egbo.

Lawyer Neville Camilleri told the court there was no reason his client should not be granted bail.

Inspector Theuma said that on the contrary, the fact he had no ties to Malta and had only been here for three months made him unreliable and the prosecution feared he might abscond.

Magistrate Silvio Meli remanded the men in custody.