The 34-year-old Italian, who resides in Malta, and his 23-year-old Maltese companion were on board the catamaran that arrived in Grand Harbour from Pozzallo at 9.15pm on Thursday.

Customs personnel and police swooped on the couple as they disembarked from the

vessel. A search of the inside of their car, a Peugeot with Maltese registration plates, was carried out and the drugs were discovered in food containers under the seat.

The police said that the suspects, who had visited Pozzallo several times in the past, were being kept under police observation.

The couple’s residence in Fgura was laterraided by the police who recovered an undisclosed quantity of cannabis. Another woman of American origin has also been arrested in connection with the case after she was found in possession of cannabis. The three people were yesterday being detained by the police for further investigation.

The operation was conducted by 25 officers from the police drug squad in conjunction with the enforcement unit of the Customs Department.