Two men remanded in custody over €250,000 cannabis importation

Two separate drug importation investigations led to the arrest of two men and the subsequent discovery of cannabis with an estimated market value of €250,000

On Tuesday afternoon, the two men were brought before Magistrate Victor Axiak in court.

The first to appear in court was 34-year-old Hew Jun Hui.

Inspector Jonathan Pace told the court that the accused was arrested upon his arrival at Malta International Airport on an Emirates flight from Larnaca, Cyprus.

During routine passenger checks, the customs official authorities noticed the suspect acting suspiciously.

The court heard that a guard dog went sniffing around the accused’s suitcase, prompting Inspector Pace to request the accused to open the suitcase.

However, he claimed not to have the key. The suitcase was subsequently forced open and it revealed several bags of cannabis inside.

19 bags of cannabis were found in the big suitcase and another nine bags were also found in his hand luggage.

The accused pleaded not guilty.

Following this, 27-year-old Jordan Anthony Gardner was arraigned. He pleaded not guilty to drug importation and trafficking charges.

The prosecution explained that on March 10, the police were alerted by the post office about a suspicious package. The package was adressed to the accused at his residence in Sliema.

The court also heard that Gardner sent an email to the post office and he asked questions about the package's status, which raised immediate suspicion.

Upon inspection, the package was found to contain two kilograms of cannabis.

The court accepted the prosecution’s request to freeze the assets of both accused. No bail requests were made by the defence team.

The prosecution was led by Inspectors Jonathan Pace and John Leigh Howard together with attorney general lawyer Nadia Ciappar.

Lawyer Thomas Barbara Sant represented the accused.