The police have arrested a man they caught with weapons strapped to his torso and back on his arrival on a cargo boat from Libya, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The arrest was made on Wednesday evening when the police stopped a man as he was leaving the Malta Freeport on suspicion that he was carrying weapons. When he was searched, the police allegedly found a total of four weapons, known as pump guns, taped to his body, two at the front and two at the back.

Sources close to the investigations said that the police probe began weeks ago when they intercepted a man carrying an unlicensed weapon.

Further investigations led the police to a man who they believed worked on one of two cargo vessels that performed regular visits to and from Tripoli and Misurata, in Libya.

Several hours of close surveillance, monitoring the man’s movements, led the police to intercept him as he left the Freeport on Wednesday evening.

Sources close to the Freeport said that the vessels’ crew members are asked to exit the Freeport from the main gate since they usually have luggage and other personal belongings that need to be searched.

Sources said the man, a 26-year-old from Luqa, is expected to be arraigned in court in the coming days, possibly today.

Meanwhile, further investigations are under way in a bid to get to the bottom of who is behind what appears to be a weapon smuggling operation.