Following the record haul of 11.5 kilogrammes of heroin on Monday, two men were yesterday charged with conspiring to deal in drugs, while a third person, who is the mother of one of the men, was charged with money laundering.

The three who appeared in court, presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, are Stella Grech, 64, from Marsa and her son Joseph Grech, 40, from Mosta, and 27-year-old Dean Martin from Santa Lucija.

Mr Grech and Mr Martin pleaded not guilty to conspiring to deal in heroin on 8 October and the preceding months. Mr Martin was also charged with relapsing.

Mr Grech and his mother were also charged with money laundering.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera remanded the men in custody after they did not request the court to grant them bail. However, Mrs Grech’s request for bail was upheld. She was placed under house arrest on account of her age and medical conditions against a deposit of Lm10,000 and a personal guarantee of another Lm10,000.

The magistrate also ordered the confiscation of the mother and son’s assets that, the court heard, are valued at Lm200,000.

Police Inspectors Norbert Ciappara, Dennis Theuma and Antonovitch Muscat prosecuted. Dr Joseph Giglio represented Mr Martin and Dr Giannella Caruana Curran and Dr Manwel Mallia assisted the mother and son.

On Tuesday evening, a 46-year-old Turkish man, Ismail Tirso, pleaded not guilty to importing the drug after he was arrested upon arrival from Istanbul at the Malta International Airport. He was found in possession of 11.5 kilogrammes of heroin that were hidden in a false bottom of a suitcase. He told the court that he was unaware of the contents of the luggage. He was remanded in custody.