The police are detaining two men who are assisting them with their investigations after they were caught with seven jerry cans with a total of 300 litres of diesel during a roadblock in Rabat yesterday morning.

In a statement, the police said the men were arrested during a roadblock in Rabat at around 2.15am yesterday. Police said a car, which was being driven in the direction of Zebbug, stopped some metres from the roadblock and people from inside the car were seen getting out in a suspicious manner. The police approached the car and in a nearby field found seven 25-litre jerry cans containing fuel, suspected to be diesel.

The driver of the vehicle, a 19-year-old man from Valletta and his passenger, a 32-year-old foreign man who lives in Balzan, were arrested and are being questioned by police.