A 49-year-old Maltese male has been arrested in Pozzallo after the authorities found at least €5 million worth of cocaine and heroin stashed in a, “ingenious” secret compartment in the car with which he was attempting to board the catamaran to Malta. 

The drug haul amounted to a total of 22 kilograms and is reported to have been one of the biggest in the province of Ragusa.

Guardia di Finanza di Ragusa agents had stopped the man’s car, which had British licence plates, when he was on the dock about to board the Jean de la Vallette ferry bound for Malta.

Upon questioning the suspect, named as Mario Bugeja, 47, showed “evident signs of nervousness, shaking hands and he was sweating profusely” according to the Italian authorities. 

When he was questioned, the Maltese reportedly provided unconvincing and evasive answers and was unable to supply a good reason for being in Italy.

At that point a thorough search of the car’s interior and exterior was undertaken and police sniffer dogs confirmed the investigators’ suspicions and raised the alarm.

The car was then taken to a police garage where it was dismantled.  Investigators found an “ingenious” compartment behind the back seats, between the bodywork and the passenger cabin, which could only be accessed by way of a button that raised the back seat with a hydraulic suspension system.

Inside the compartment they found 11 vacuum-packed packets of cocaine and nine packets of heroin.

The drugs were seized and the Maltese suspect was arrested and taken to the Ragusa prison for processing.  The drug haul, which was sent to a laboratory for analysis, is believed to have a street value of at least €5 million.