Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said the government will be investing in more equipment to allow the Customs Department to continue its battle against the importation of illegal substances as well as against fiscal evasion.

Addressing department officers, Scicluna said a mobile scanner is already in use at the Valletta Gateway Terminal and a container scanner will soon be available at the Freeport Terminal.

The department will also have a dogs section to help officers identify tobacco products and drugs, the minister said.

Scicluna added that this year the department seized 300 kilos of cocaine in what is its largest ever haul, considering that the value of the drug was over €20 million.