A man was caught trying to smuggle around 1.2kg of cannabis into Malta through the airport, Customs said on Friday. 

In a statement, Customs said that during routine passenger screenings on a Madrid flight, a piece of luggage was flagged as suspicious after it was passed through an X-ray scanner. 

Following a physical inspection, a plastic bag containing 1.2kg of cannabis was seized alongside 100g of a brown substance that has yet to be identified. 

The luggage belonged to a Spanish passenger claiming to be visiting Malta on holiday, Customs said.
 
The assistance of the police’s anti-drug squad has been requested and an investigation has been opened.

Customs said the passenger was placed under arrest and will be arraigned in court in the coming days. The narcotics have been handed over to the police.
 
This is the third seizure in just a few weeks. Customs discovered 3kg of cannabis coming in from Spain and 113kg of khat, a plant-based stimulant popular in north Africa.