Man and woman deny raft of drug charges after drugs worth €650,000 found in car
The pair were stopped while driving off the Sicily ferry
A man and a woman were remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to a raft of drug trafficking charges.
Montenegrin national Osmajic Branko and Serb national Nikolina Vranic were arraigned on Tuesday morning before magistrate Lara Lanfranco accused of importing cannabis, cocaine and MDMA.
They were also accused of being in possession of the drugs in circumstances which denoted they were not for personal use.
Details during the arraignment were scant, but police said in a statement issued a day earlier that the pair were arrested after being found in possession of drugs with a street value of €650,000.
The pair, both aged 27, were stopped while driving off the Sicily ferry.
Their car was searched in a police garage, and the drugs were found in hidden compartments at the bottom and the rear of the vehicle.
The police said officers found 15 kilos of suspected cannabis resin, three kilos of suspected cocaine and hundreds of suspected ecstasy pills.
Bail was not requested.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto requested the court make a recommendation to prison authorities following a request from Vranic to be able to continue breastfeeding her child while in custody. The court upheld the request.
Magistrate Lara Lanfranco presided.
AG lawyer Maria Francesca Spiteri prosecuted, assisted by police inspector John Leigh Howard.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto assisted Vranic, while legal aid lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young assisted Branko.