Updated 1pm with third arraignment
Three men arrested after being caught transporting 200 kilos of cannabis on Thursday were remanded in custody on Saturday morning after pleading not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
Read: Largest cannabis haul found among melons on fruit van
In the first arraignment, Francesco Pisano, 41, from Siracusa, Sicily and residing in Birżebbugia pleaded not guilty to the charges but did not request bail.
Prosecuting officers Inspector Anthony Sciberras and Frank Anthony Tabone told the court they had stopped Mr Pisano while driving a truck loaded with some 200 kilos of cannabis resin. He was stopped upon leaving a freight company warehouse in Ta' Qali.
In the second arraignment, 28-year-old Dennis Aguis, the only Maltese of the three men charged, was also remanded in custody after being charged with trafficking and with encouraging other parties to commit the crime.
Mr Aguis, a project manager, was also charged with being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The court heard how he was waiting for the consignment at a garage in Luqa, which is still under construction. The police then organised a so-called "controlled delivery" of the drugs, arresting Mr Agius and another man while they were unloading the cannabis that had been delivered to the Luqa garage under police surveillance.
The third man, 30-year-old Sicilian Antonio Rametta, a fruit vendor, also pleaded not guilty to the same accusations.
Mr Rametta, along with Mr Aguis, was arrested at the Luqa garage while unloading the watermelons containing the cannabis.
The court again upheld the prosecution’s request for the freezing of the accused’s assets.
Legal aid Josette Sultana, who assisted Mr Rametta, made no request for bail.
He also pleaded not guilty.
Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, who presided over the case, upheld the prosecution's request to freeze Mr Pisano's assets.
Lawyers Mario Spiteri Bianchi and Sarah Mifsud appeared for Pisano. Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia appeared for Agius.