Joseph Camilleri, from Rabat, and Matthew Bajada, from Santa Venera, yesterday pleaded not guilty to trafficking in cocaine and ecstasy pills after the police intercepted them with 21,000 ecstasy pills and over 570 grammes of cocaine in a van on which they had boarded a ferry from Genoa.

The two men were charged with conspiring to import and importing the drugs as well as possessing the drugs in circumstances denoting they were not for their personal use and relapsing. Magistrate Silvio Meli remanded them in custody.

The two men, 53 and 25 years old respectively, were arrested on Monday morning when a Malta-registered Mercedes van arrived in Grand Harbour on a car-passenger ferry. The vessel had left Genoa, Italy and made its way to Malta after stopping at Tunis. The two men were in the van

Drug Squad police and customs enforcement unit officials conducted a thorough search of the van at the police headquarters and they found 10 plastic bags hidden behind wood panels at the back of the van. The bags carried the drugs.

Police Inspector Jesmond J Borg prosecuted. Lawyers Joseph Giglio and Robert Abela appeared for Mr Bajada while Mr Camilleri was unrepresented.