Updated 3.30pm.

The police seized 10kg of cannabis during a raid on a Pietá apartment and a Gzira hotel on Saturday and arraigned three men and a woman on Sunday afternoon. 

The arrests were made on Saturday morning but were announced on Sunday. The police had also initially reported the arrest of a fourth man.   

The police said they acted on intelligence gathered over several weeks.  A drug importation and trafficking ring was smashed.

The drug found in the apartment has a street value of €150,000.

Stelica State, 44, Ion Palade, 36, Claudiu Dangeanu, and Petronela Chiriac, 33, all Romanians, were charged with possession and drug trafficking of cannabis. Dangeanu was also charged with being in possession of a psychoactive drug.

They all pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution told the court, presided over by Magistrate Marsanne Farrugia, that Chiriac, who had been living in the apartment in Pietà, was recently joined by Dangeanu and Palade. State arrived by catamaran from Sicily two days ago.

During the police search, four large black bags containing 73 smaller bags of cannabis were found. 

Chiriac, who was at the apartment during the search, was the first to be arrested. State and Palade were arrested shortly after. Dangeanu was arrested in Gzira, where he had stayed for one night.

None of the accused requested bail. The court ordered the freezing of their assets.

Inspectors Alfredo Mangion and John Leigh Howard, alongside AG lawyer Maria Francesca Spiteri, prosecuted.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Adreanna Zammit represented Chiriac.

Lawyer Martina Herrera acted as legal aid for the rest.