A 21-year-old Gozitan police constable was arrested last weekend after he was caught in possession of six sachets of suspected cocaine, police sources confirmed.

The sources said the young constable, who had only recently joined the Corp, was watching a football match at the Gozo Football Stadium on Sunday between Nadur Youngsters and Xewkija Tigers.

He was being monitored by officers of the recently bolstered Gozo Drug Squad who followed him into the men’s bathrooms where they discovered he was in possession of what is believed to be the drug.

The officer allegedly resisted arrest, sources said, but was eventually placed under custody.

"I think the drugs went to his head," one source said. 

He was made to resign from the police force earlier this week, top brass said.

Another police source said the officer in question was expected to be arraigned in court in the coming days and charged with aggravated possession.

“It is a crying shame that a young member of the Corp would be involved in drugs, it can give such a bad name to the whole police force," he said. 

Gozo stadium hotspot

Sources said the Gozo stadium was one of a number of places the drug squad had been monitoring in recent months as part of an attempt to clamp down on narcotics on the sister isle.

Other people were arrested as part of the crackdown, a senior source said. 

“I’m quite pleased to see that even though this young man was a police officer, the drug squad still arrested him and didn’t give him any preferential treatment,” they added.

Last year, Times of Malta had reported how three police officers had been caught in possession of cocaine in a Paceville nightclub.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Customs Department said its officers had seized cocaine worth some €11 million after homing in on a container in transit at Malta Freeport.