2018 has, by far, been the most positive year for Malta Customs in terms of impressive drug haul results, the department said in a statement.

The department in January launched its new scanning shed at the Freeport, which boasts state of the art scanning equipment, as well as a dedicated Canine Unit in July. 

The Customs Department continued to capitalize on its 2017 success (300kg Cocaine haul, which was, till then, Malta’s largest cocaine bust) and in 2018 reached an unprecedented momentum which made the headlines. 

In fact, in total, Customs has made the below seizures during 2018;

1^st Quarter of 2018:

Cocaine - 100 kgs at the Freeport;

Cannabis - 150 kgs at the Freeport; and

7 packages, arriving by mail post, handed over to the Police Anti Drug Squad for further investigation.

2^nd Quarter of 2018:

Cocaine - 2 kgs at the Seaport;

Cannabis - 3 kgs at the Airport, 1.6 kgs at the Seaport and 6 grms at the Mail Post;

Ketamine – 8 grms at the Mail Post; and

6 packages, arriving by mail post, handed over to the Police Anti Drug Squad for further investigation.

3^rd Quarter of 2018:

Cocaine - 95 capsules of cocaine carried by a swallower at the Airport;

Heroin - 2 kgs at the Airport;

Cannabis - 10,729.4 kgs at the Freeport, 10 kgs at the Seaport, and 3.5 kgs at the Airport, and

4 packages, arriving by mail post, handed over to the Police Anti Drug Squad for further investigation.

4^th Quarter of 2018:

Cocaine – 182 kgs at the Freeport;

Cannabis – 5,020 kgs at the Freeport, 5kgs at the Airport, and 0.5 kgs at the Mail Post, and

1 package, arriving by mail post, handed over to the Police Anti Drug Squad for further investigation.

Total

15,922.5 kgs of cannabis; 184.7 kgs of cocaine; 100 kgs of cocaine (control delivery to Croatia) 2 kgs of heroin; and 8 grms of ketamine