Three suspects in a drug-trafficking conspiracy arrested during a police raid on Thursday were remanded in custody on Saturday.
The raid netted some seven kilos of cannabis grass.
Jason Micallef, a 24-year-old, self-employed Cospicua resident, Joseph Borg, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Santa Venera and Marko Acimovic, a 40-year-old Serbian chef, were charged with conspiring to traffic drugs and possession of cannabis under circumstances indicating that the drug was not for their personal use.
Mr Borg and Mr Acimovic were also charged with illegal possession of cocaine. The two Maltese men were further charged with breaching bail, while Mr Micallef was separately charged with relapsing.
The Serb was separately charged with drug-trafficking and attempting to destroy the traces of a crime.
All three pleaded not guilty.
Prosecuting inspector Kevin Pulis explained how the police had been keeping their eye upon the suspect racket, following two of the men to Swieqi on Thursday.
The car driven by Mr Borg stopped outside an apartment block. Members from the drug squad watched as Mr Micallef, who was in the passenger seat, got out, entered the building and soon came back out, carrying a suitcase.
The police intervened as soon as had he climbed back into the passenger seat and placed the baggage at his feet.
Two bags of the suspect drug were found inside the suitcase. More drugs were discovered inside one of the Swieqi apartments where Mr Acimovic lived. Some two kilos of suspect cannabis grass had to be retrieved from the sewage system after the Serb allegedly tried to dispose of the drug upon sensing police presence.
No request for bail was made on behalf of the two Maltese men. A request on behalf of Mr Acimovic was put forward in view of the fact that he had a minor child and a pregnant wife back home.
However, the request was turned down on account of the gravity of the charges and the risk of tampering with evidence.
The court upheld a request by the prosecution for a freezing order upon all assets, both movable and immovable, of the accused, save for a yearly allowance of €13,982.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were counsel to Mr Micallef. Lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran and Jacques Grima were counsel to Mr Borg. Lawyer Joseph Brincat was legal aid counsel to Mr Acimovic.