Updated 5.35pm

Some 200kg of cannabis resin stolen from an army base on Saturday night are worth an estimated €600,000, based on the value of the haul they originated from and which was seized by customs authorities last year.  

Senior sources confirmed to Times of Malta that the drugs stolen from the Armed Forces Malta (AFM) base in Ħal Safi over the weekend were from a 4.3 tonnes haul worth €13 million seized by Freeport officials in June.

Sources said a wire fence had been cut to access the site.

A spokesperson for AFM said it was "not standard procedure" for such drugs to be held by AFM, with the occurrence in question a "one-off request" from the Courts Services Agency.

Customs officials said last year the resin had been discovered after scans of six induction ovens originating from Morocco and bound for Libya found inconsistencies in the devices.  

Further investigation yielded packets of cannabis resin hidden inside the ovens, in a find officials called “remarkable” not only for the quantity of the drugs discovered but also for the “ingenious” way they were hidden. 

Investigators said the resin had been "ingeniously" hidden. Photo: Customs Department.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, who revealed the theft in a Facebook post on Sunday morning while offering his resignation, said the resin had been awaiting destruction. 

It is not clear at this stage whether any more of the 4.3 tonnes of cannabis resin seized last year remains in the hands of authorities.  

Announcing the shock theft, Camilleri said the drugs had been moved to the AFM facility at the request of the courts over concerns of possible industrial action at the Freeport. 

The resin was being held in an area of the base patrolled by AFM personnel and monitored by CCTV, Camilleri said. 

The head of the armed forces, Brigadier Clinton J O’Neill, was suspended following news of the theft.

An upcoming administrative inquiry (an internal investigation) was announced by Robert Abela on Sunday, with the police currently investigating the theft under the direction of Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici.

The AFM spokesperson said the armed forces were “assisting with both the magisterial inquiry and police investigations” but did not provide further details.

A spokesperson for the police said "no further information can be disclosed at this stage, as the case is subject to a magisterial inquiry, and any additional disclosures could hinder the investigative process".

An update, he said, would be provided "when deemed appropriate".

The spokesperson noted, however, that the stolen drugs were the responsibility of the Court Registrar, "who is also responsible for their secure storage".

Questions were sent to the customs department.