Three men are being held by the police after a "record heroin seizure" was made at the Malta International Airport yesterday.

In an operation involving the police and Customs Department officials, more than 11.4 kilogrammes of heroin that were hidden in a false bottom of a suitcase belonging to a Turkish national. The man had just arrived in Malta from Istanbul.

Further investigations led to the arrest of two Maltese men, a 40-year-old from Mosta and a 27-year-old from St Paul’s Bay, the police added.

A search in a residence in Marsa, owned by relatives of one of the arrested men, led to the discovery of large amounts of Maltese and foreign cash.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna appointed several experts to help him in the inquiry.

The police said it is continuing its investigations. The men are to be arraigned in court in the coming days.

The police said the operation was a result of the

cooperation that exists between the Police Anti-Drug Squad and the Customs Department’s enforcement unit.