Cannabis was discovered hidden in a vehicle during routine checks by the Customs Canine Unit and by Customs Enforcement Unit on Wednesday.

The vehicle arrived in Malta by ferry from Sicily and belongs to an Italian national. It was discovered to be carrying 10kg of cannabis after being flagged by Sparky, one of the new Customs sniffer dogs. The approximate street value is calculated to be  20,000 euros.

The dog flagged the vehicle, a Customs Department statement said, and an initial physical search did not yield any visible results. However, Sparky persisted with his reaction. Therefore, it was suspected that the car had a hidden compartment. For this reason, the vehicle was transferred to the Police garage where the Police experts have dismantled all its panels and drugs were elevated from two separate well hidden compartments.

It is believed that the Police Anti-Drug Squad have widened their investigations and persons have been arraigned. Duty Magistrate, Dr Joe Mifsud,  is leading a Magisterial inquiry,

This case developed in parallel with the earlier reported case at the Freeport where 44 kilograms of cocaine, worth 4.5 million euros have been seized. This means that two substantial narcotics seizures were made in two separate locations by the Customs special teams.