Customs officials seized 90 kilograms of cocaine worth close to €9.72 million on Wednesday, in the latest of a series of large-scale drug hauls.

In both cases, the drugs were hidden in packs behind refrigeration panels in two containers at the Malta Freeport.

The containers, which came from Ecuador, were bound for Thessaloniki in Greece and contained bananas. 

They were selected for scanning following a risk analysis by officials at the Container Monitoring Unit. 

A total of 35 packets containing cocaine, weighing 42kg and with a street value of €4.72 million were seized from the first container.

Later, the scanning team flagged another reefer container containing 40 packets of cocaine weighing a total of 48kg, with a street value of €5 million.

Both cases were handed to the police Drug Squad for investigations. An inquiry is being held.

On Saturday, the Customs Department intercepted 3.5 kilos of cannabis destined to the domestic market in the luggage of a passenger arriving from Ciampino airport in Rome.

A few days earlier a total of 5,020 kilos of cannabis resin and 48 kilos of cocaine hidden in two separate containers were found at the Freeport.

Customs Department and the police have had a "historic year" in their fight against drugs, wiping out more than 17 tons of narcotics from the streets.