Updated at 1.10pm

A man was remanded in custody after his request for bail was turned down, after facing drug-related and money-laundering charges following his arrest on Wednesday night in Paceville.

Jonathan Micallef, 35, from Swieqi, was arrested after a police search of his vehicle yielded a black pouch containing some 50 grams of suspected cocaine, packed in a number of sachets, allegedly intended for trafficking.

The search continued at the man’s residence in Swieqi where some 300 grams of cannabis grass were discovered, along with €32,000 in cash.

The man was marched to court under arrest on Friday morning, pleading not guilty to charges of possession of the drugs in circumstances which denoted that they were not for his personal use, trafficking drugs in a place frequented by youths as well as money laundering.

During the arraignment, the police made reference to a statement given under oath by a Spanish national who had singled out the accused as the person who used to sell him drugs.

A request for bail was made, with defence lawyers arguing that there were no civilian witnesses since those scheduled to testify were the police officers involved and court experts appointed in the magisterial inquiry.

It was pointed out by the defence that the Spanish national, who had implicated the accused, had absconded from the island after releasing his statement in 2014, with a European Arrest Warrant having been issued in his regard over a year ago.

It would be unjust to deny their client bail until the Spanish national gave evidence, the defence argued.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, however, after deliberation in his chambers, turned down the request in view of the man's "unruly" character and the jail sentence that a guilty verdict would entail. The court also took into consideration the fact that he used to reside abroad and has an ID card issued by the Czech Republic authorities.

The fact that he has a foreign partner also made the possibility of absconding more real. Some of the drugs were found in a vehicle registered in the name of a third party, currently abroad, and who is still to testify.

Inspector Justine Grech prosecuted. Lawyers Alfred Abela, Rene' Darmanin and Arthur Azzopardi were defence counsel.