A sniffer dog led police officers to two pieces of luggage in which drugs were subsequently found, a court heard on Tuesday.

Details were given by Inspector Jonathan Pace during the arraignment of 35-year-old Malaysian Hew Jun Hui, who pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking.

Pace told a court that on Monday, the police were carrying out customs checks on passengers who had just arrived from Dubai and Cyprus. A sniffer dog sat down next to two pieces of luggage that belonged to the accused, indicating that the bags may contain drugs.

Anomalies were noticed when the bags were put through an x-ray machine and Hew was asked to open the bags. He claimed he did not have the keys and the bag had been handed to him by a friend.

The police broke the locks and found 28 bags of cannabis. The suspect was arrested on-site.

No request for bail was made on Tuesday and the court upheld a prosecution request for a freezing order.

Drug parcels intercepted

In a separate case, 27-year-old Briton Jordan Anthony Gardner pleaded not guilty after the police accused him of drug trafficking, having intercepted two drug parcels addressed to him.

Inspector Pace told a court that his office was informed by Customs about a newly-arrived parcel that contained 1.5 kilograms of cannabis. It was meant to be delivered to a residence in Sliema. A day later, on March 11, Customs intercepted another parcel that was being sent to the same address. It contained 0.5 kilograms of cannabis.

Police investigations showed that since the parcels had not arrived. Gardner sent an email to an unidentified person inquiring about what happened.

Gardner was arrested on Monday.

No bail was requested and the court issued a freezing order.

The police said earlier on Tuesday that the total value of the two drug hauls was €250,000.

Magistrate Victor Axiak presided over both cases. Inspectors Pace and John Leigh Howard, as well as AG lawyer Nadia Ciappara, prosecuted both cases. Thomas Barabara Sant acted as legal aid for both.