Spanish couple arrested at airport with 14kg of cannabis

Two Spanish passengers were arrested after customs officials at the airport found 13 plastic bags of cannabis in their luggage.

The couple arrived in Malta yesterday on a flight from Seville in the second such instance of drug smuggling via the same route in a matter of weeks.

Customs said in a statement that during routine screening of passengers, the couple aroused suspicion and their two travel bags were passed through a luggage scan.

The X-ray flagged suspicious items and a physical search yielded 13 plastic bags full of cannabis. Seven bags weighing 7.6kg each were elevated from one luggage and six bags weighing 6.4kg each were found in the second luggage.

A physical search on the passengers also yielded a small plastic bag containing cocaine.

A police investigation is underway and the duty magistrate was informed.

Both passengers are expected to be arraigned in court in the coming hours.

Customs said this was the second seizure of its kind, in recent weeks, from the Seville route and the third from a Spanish city.