Two Serbs have been granted bail after pleading not guilty to possessing substantial amounts of ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis.
The discovery was made late on Saturday by policemen on patrol who noticed Tatjana Tesic, 50, and Srdan Stevanovic, 34, acting suspiciously in a car in St Paul's Bay.
As the police approached, the car drove off at high speed. The police gave chase and intercepted the vehicle at Triq Dawret il-Gżejjer.
The two were charged with aggravated possession, with Ms Tesic being found in possession of 13.5 grams of cannabis grass and 11 ecstasy pills in her handbag. A sachet of cocaine was found in her St Paul's Bay apartment.
Mr Stevanovic was found in possession of 47 grams of cannabis grass, 3.3 grams of cannabis resin and 45 ecstasy pills.
Prosecuting officer Nikolai Sant objected to the defence counsel's request for bail, arguing that both were non-EU nationals, making it very difficult for them to be traced were they to abscond.
Lawyer Giannella de Marco pointed out that Ms Tesic, who works as an interior designer, had been living in Malta for the past 14 years and had a daughter who was married to a Maltese national. She also had a fixed residence in St Paul's Bay, which she shared with the co-accused.
There were constitutional cases which ruled that a rented place was enough to denote ties to a country.
The amounts were not large, Dr de Marco continued, adding that the accused had admitted to being a regular drug user.
Regarding Mr Stevanovic, who has been living in Malta for a couple of months, Dr de Marco pointed out that he had a clean police conduct certificate and lived with the co-accused.
"There is no fear of them absconding. It's not valid to say that they cannot be granted bail merely because they are foreigners. Moreover, there are no witnesses who are not police officers so there is no fear of tampering of evidence."
Magistrate Doreen Clarke granted them bail - in Ms Tesic's case, against an €800 deposit and a €3,000 personal guarantee, while Mr Stevanovic was granted bail against a €1,000 deposit and a €4,000 personal guarantee.