Updated 5.23pm
More than 20 armed police officers raided a bar and apartment block in Marsa today in an operation that yielded an undisclosed amount of cannabis and "suspected synthetic substances" ready for trafficking.
Officers kitted out in bulletproof vests and automatic weapons stood guard outside the New Tiger Bar as others entered the premises and an adjacent block of apartments, accompanied by a pair of police sniffer dogs. Others entered from the building's rooftop, while a drone was also spotted overhead in the sky. Paramedics and an ambulance were also on site.
In a statement issued at 5.23pm, police said that Valletta district police, anti-drug squad officers and members of the Special Intervention Unit were all involved in the raid. A number of people are being held for questioning, police said.
Sources said more than a dozen people are in police custody.