A man arraigned on drug trafficking charges has pleaded not guilty.

Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the force had received a tip-off that a drugs sale would take place on Monday, and immediately began following a vehicle which was being driven by a 40-year-old man from Pieta.

After some time, the police encircled the vehicle in Triq Oscar Zammit in Msida, and a search resulted in the finding of 102 capsules containing what is thought to be cocaine. Searches were also carried out at the man’s shop in Triq Nicolo Isourd in Marsa, where another 14 capsules thought to contain cocaine were found.

The alleged amount of cocaine found weighs around 1.2 kilograms and has a street market value of around €95,000.

On Wednesday in court, the 40-year-old - David Mifsud - pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of cocaine and cannabis in circumstances indicating that it was not exclusively for his own use, money laundering, complicity in money laundering and recidivism. 

Bail was not requested at this stage.

Separately, on Tuesday the police said that a 21-year-old man from Marsa was also arrested at the shop, and he was found to be in possession of objects related to drug trafficking and also a number of packets which allegedly contained cannabis which was ready to be sold.