Sea captain Carmelo Grech is expected to face smuggling charges in Libya after his arrest two weeks ago.

Mr Grech will also face charges for carrying excessive amounts of cash – he was caught with more than €300,000 at Labrak airport near Al Bayda, a city in eastern Libya.

Sources in Libya said Mr Grech would be charged in the court at Al Bayda over the coming days. They said the smuggling charges were not specified yet. Mr Grech, 60, was arrested by forces loyal to the internationally recognised Tobruk government, along with a Jordanian and two Algerians who are also expected to be charged.

Mr had travelled to Libya with a visa issued by the Libyan embassy in Berlin representing the Tobruk government. Mr Grech entered Libya through Mitiga airport in Tripoli before making his way to the east of Libya.

Mr Grech, who owns a fishing trawler through the family company Gulf Fisheries Ltd, had “strong links” to Libya. In the 2011 anti-Gaddafi uprising he had ferried supplies to Misurata, which was under siege