Contractor Bastjan Dalli was yesterday charged with conspiring to deal in cannabis in December and violating police bail conditions when he travelled to Libya.

Mr Dalli, who is Social Policy Minister John Dalli's brother, is the fifth man charged in connection with the 30 kilogramme "drug" find that was intercepted by police after it was allegedly imported aboard a yacht sailing in from Libya.

His arraignment follows that of another four men who were allegedly caught importing what they thought was cannabis but which eventually turned out to be soap.

In a statement released after the arraignment, Minister Dalli disassociated himself from the case against his brother.

"I learnt about the case from the newspapers a few days ago and immediately spoke to the Prime Minister who confirmed that I was not involved in any way," the minister said.

During yesterday's arraignment, his brother, 52, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him, which included having in his possession a fire arm or ammunition and relapsing.

Mr Dalli's lawyers, Arthur Azzopardi and Ian Farrugia, argued for their client's right to be granted bail on grounds that there was no fear he would escape from Malta because he has strong family and business ties on the island and that he was "trustworthy".

Prosecuting Officer Norbert Ciappara, pounced on this point and referred to the fact that Mr Dalli had gone to Libya while on bail, even though he was specifically barred from doing so.

Still, his lawyers defended the point, saying that their client had returned immediately when asked to. They also stressed that Mr Dalli could have tampered with evidence during the past weeks but did not. Besides, they pointed out, he had a clean criminal record, save for three traffic-related contraventions.

However, Magistrate Anthony Vella turned down the request for bail citing the serious nature of the case and noting there was no sufficient guarantee that Mr Dalli would not escape from Malta.

Last December, Rupert Busuttil, 34, Carmelo Borg, 31, Marvin Debono, 22, and Paul Azzopardi, 39, were arrested and charged in connection with the same drug find.

The four men were allegedly caught leaving an area known as L-Irdum ta' Miġra l-Ferħa, near Mtaħleb, in two cars on December 27 after they allegedly picked up 30 kilogrammes of "cannabis" from the rocky beach.

The police said they had ferried the stuff with a dinghy from an anchored yacht, the Jolly Roger, which had sailed in from Libya. However, during the case against them, an expert found that the drug was actually soap.

This case bears legal similarities to that of Steven Marsden who was jailed for 25 years a few weeks ago for conspiring to import 50,000 "ecstasy" pills in 2006.

Mr Marsden's case set a precedent in Malta as he was found guilty of conspiring to import ecstasy although it turned out to be another substance, mCPP, which was not illegal in Malta at the time.