Two men were arrested by the police in an operation which led them to seize €350,000 worth of drugs.

After weeks of observation, a police statement said, members of the Vice-Squad assisted by the Special Intervention Unit swooped in on a car in Melita Street, Paola.

The car was being driven by a 40-year-old man of Hamrun, who had a 29-year-old man of Paola riding as a passenger.

A search in the vehicle yielded two kilogrammes of cocaine, car keys and €8,500 in cash.

The operation continued in a residence in the same road and in a garage in Triq Sant’Ubaldeska, owned by the Hamrun man.

In the residence the police found cocaine and cannabis, €100,000 in gold items and other jewellery, and €78,000 in cash. In the garage, the police seized a Range River Sports and a Mercedes E63, the value of which is around €250,000.

The police also searched a garage in Triq il-Qaddiefa, in Marsa, owned by the 40-year-old, and found 3.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.

The police said that the street value of the drugs amounted to €350,000.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia is leading an inquiry.

The two men are expected to be arraigned in court on Sunday, charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.