More mass drug catches by the police force and customs department could equate to more drug smuggling attempts than before, Home Affairs and National Security Minister Michael Farrugia told The Malta Independent.

Such a phenomenon could be because these smugglers double their efforts to make up for the gap in the drug market that police catches leave, Farrugia explained.

Asked by this newsroom whether an increase in drug catches at the Freeport over the past months could signify that there is an increase in drugs coming into Malta and possibly sparking concerns that Malta was at the centre of some form of drug smuggling ring, Farrugia was non-committal, saying that what was most important was that the police force is doing its job and was registering positive results.

The minister said that it is easy for one to not find drugs and create the illusion that there is no drug problem in the country, and that it was likewise easy to create the illusion that there is a much more prominent drug problem if more drugs are being intercepted.

When pushed on this point and asked to clarify whether an increase in drug busts doesn’t necessarily signify an increase in the amount of drugs entering the market, Farrugia said that what was possible was that smugglers make up for police catches by trying to ship more drugs through as a sort of retaliation to the initial drug busts.

Farrugia said that the police force should be praised for their use of intelligence, as should the customs department for implementing new technology and procedures to ensure that they can not only aid the fight against drugs overseas, but that they can break criminal circles which may have a foothold in Malta.

It’s good to note that certain ships which were found to have drugs onboard had passed through several other ports overseas, but since those ports did not have equipment as there is in Malta, the illicit cargo could not be found, Farrugia added.  They were caught in Malta because we have the necessary equipment, showing the investments in IT and intelligence that the government has carried out so to keep reaching our goals, he continued.

“The success of the police is that they are managing to catch these people even when they come up with ever more innovative means to smuggle drugs into the country”, Farrugia said before adding that it was important to keep providing police with all the proper and necessary training so that they can remain abreast with all the latest developments in the field.

The past months have seen various drug busts at the Freeport in Malta.  On Boxing Day 90 kilos of cocaine were intercepted in two containers destined for Greece, whilst five days prior another 48 kilos of cocaine were found.  In November a further 40 kilos of cocaine was intercepted.  The total street value of the cocaine is €19.5 million.

Those busts brought to a close what was a record year for the Customs department – 15,922 kilos of cannabis were confiscated along with a total of 284 kilos of cocaine, two kilos of heroin and eight grams of ketamine.

Just last week, a Maltese man was arrested in Sicily as he was caught red handed about to transport 231 kilos of marijuana in his trailer.  Italian media described the haul as one of the biggest it had ever managed, and estimated that the cost of the drugs amounted to €1.5 million.  The drugs were discovered among frozen food and were destined to be driven onto the catamaran to Malta.