Eight persons were arrested by the police in separate drug raids in Marsa, Zabbar and Marsascala, the police said.

On Friday morning, members of the Rapid Intervention Unit arrested two men, a Somali aged 23 and a Gambian aged 27, who were in possession of 31 packets of cannabis, cannabis resin and 20 sachets of synthetic drugs.

Magistrate Charmaine Galea is leading an inquiry.

On Thursday, Zabbar district police stopped a BMW in Main Road and arrested a woman aged 29 and a man aged 21. In the vehicle, the police found a grinder with cannabis, two bags of cannabis and a knuckle-duster.

On Friday evening, police on patrol arrested three Maltese men aged 17, 20 and 22, and a Syrian man aged 20 who were found in possession of cannabis, grinders, scales and a joint.