Items chucked out of the window of a moving car during a police chase later turned out to be 30 sachets of heroin, a court heard on Friday.

Patrick Borg, 49, from Birkirkara, was apprehended by the police who were following him and another two people after a tip-off that they were involved in drug trafficking. During the chase, he was seen throwing items outside his car.

When he was stopped, the other two fled. The three bags he was seen throwing out of the car each contained ten sachets of small doses of heroin, police inspector Clayton Camilleri told Magistrate Victor Axiak.

Borg pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him, which included trafficking within 100 metres of a place frequented by youths and relapsing.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit argued that the total amount of heroin involved was “not an exaggerated amount” and asked for bail which was upheld by the court, against a €500 deposit and a €10,000 personal guarantee.

He was ordered to sign the bail book twice a week and not to speak to any of the prosecution’s witnesses.