Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo warned traders tonight that anyone who intended buying and shipping merchandise from Sicily or elsewhere needed to ensure that rules were followed.

Speaking in Parliament during the adjournment , Mr Vassallo referred to the current case where four Maltese stevedores are being held  in Sicily after  officials of the Guardia di Finanza seized merchandise worth thousands of liri.

He said that although trade was free, that did not mean an abdication of rules. Countries everywhere had rules  to ensure a level playing field and these had to be followed. One could not simply become  a road haulier without following local rules, he said.