The father and brother of two alleged drug traffickers have been charged with helping launder money by registering two BMWs and a Pajero SUV in their names.

Alfred Delia, 65, and his son Marco, 43, pleaded not guilty to being accomplices to 32-year-old Freddie and 29-year-old Roderick Delia, in January, April and May this year.

The police believe the two men were aware the three cars had been bought with dirty money and they helped the brothers acquire the vehicles by registering them in their names, Police Inspector Antonovitch Muscat told a court yesterday.

The arraignment comes three weeks after Freddie and Roderick were themselves charged with trafficking in cocaine and heroin and with money laundering.

During their arraignment, the police had described the house the brothers shared in Żabbar as built like a fortress, equipped with metal bars and CCTV cameras and with a pit bull type dog standing guard at the door.

In yesterday's hearing, Inspector Muscat said the cars were bought from a dealer, Premier Car Sales, in Burmarrad.

In his pleas on bail, in fact, the inspector argued that the dealership owners and employees had still to testify, stressing that if the accused were released they could approach them, jeopardising the case.

Defence lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, argued that the evidence hinged on documents, a "paper trail", and, therefore, there was no issue with the people who were meant to testify.

He also pointed out that the two brothers implicated were in jail, arguing that having all four near each other could prejudice the case.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit granted the men bail against a guarantee of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000 each.

Lawyers Emmanuel Mallia and Kathleen Grima also appeared for the men.