A woman suspected of selling illicit drug khat within the Somali community worked with her niece to collect parcels of the substance sent to Malta by post, a court heard on Wednesday.

Hodon Aden Farah, a 42-year-old Somali housewife who lives in Ħamrun, was arraigned after police intercepted a parcel containing almost 9kg of khat.

Her niece, Ayan Awil Mohamed, 26, was also arraigned separately in connection with the crime.

A court heard how the package, weighing between 8kg and 9kg, was intercepted before it was delivered to the Guardamanġa apartment it was addressed to.

It was found to contain khat, an illegal stimulant that is popular in Africa. 

Police went to the place that the parcel was addressed to and found an apartment that was completely empty.  When they called a phone number provided on the package, a woman answered and immediately said “I be there. I’m coming for the package.”

Minutes later, a car carrying three people pulled up. Both Farah and her niece were among them.

Prosecutors told the court that Farah would order drugs in her niece’s name and make all the arrangements to collect the package and then sell the substance within the Somali community.

It was her niece who answered the phone when police called and who emerged from the car to collect the package, the court heard.

Both women pleaded not guilty to drug importation, trafficking and aggravated possession, and requested bail.

Farah’s lawyer argued that she was a mother of three young children and had cooperated with the police. Her husband was in Malta, lawyer Franco Debono argued.

Debono also represented the woman’s niece, Mohamed. He said she has been living in Malta for years and noted that she and her aunt cannot be witnesses against each other. Evidence has been preserved, he said, and trafficking khat carried a maximum 10-year sentence, unlike sentences for harder drugs like cocaine.

Prosecutors objected to both requests for bail.

Magistrate Nadine Lia denied the requests, noting the nature of the charges, the accused’s risk of absconding and their familial relationship.

Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca prosecuted the case. Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb represented the two accused.