Drugs found in video player

A Libyan man was nabbed when trying to smuggle 650 grammes of cannabis resin into Malta in an electronic device on Wednesday evening.

Salaheddin Ali Elmabrouk, 24, who arrived on a flight from Tripoli, was caught carrying the illegal drug inside a video compact disc player by Customs officials at Malta International Airport at about 9 p.m.

A spokesman for the Customs Department yesterday said officials at the airport decided to scan the man's luggage because "they were unconvinced" by the man's declaration regarding the contents.

"On scanning the items through the X-ray machine, cannabis resin was found inside a VCD in the man's possession," the spokesman said, adding it was the first time drugs had been discovered inside electronic devices.

The man was arrested and handed over to the police.

This was the seventh time that persons have been caught smuggling drugs since the beginning of the year, with the amount of confiscated substances totalling about 1,200 grammes of cannabis and 2,200 grammes of heroin.