An international truck driver was yesterday charged with smuggling into Malta almost a kilogramme of heroin hidden inside parts of an air-conditioning unit.

Chris Borg, 42, of Gżira was remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to conspiring to traffic and to importing and possessing the drug in circumstances denoting it was not for his exclusive use.

Another man, Charles Seychel, who worked on a shift basis with Mr Borg, was arraigned last month and remanded in custody on the same charges.

Two men had arranged for a tampered AC unit to be brought to Malta in two separate deliveries, police sources said. The drugs were split up into two packets, the first placed inside the indoor unit and the other in the compressor. The two parts were transported separately, in both cases using a trailer truck which the men drove across Europe picking up other goods.

The police were aware of the operation and kept tabs on the first delivery address. They intercepted the second delivery when the truck arrived in Malta on June 21 carrying fruit, eggs and the unit, the sources said.

Magistrate Miriam Hayman said she was informed there would be no request for bail and thus remanded Mr Borg in custody.