A man, arrested on Friday over suspected drug trafficking after two kilos of cocaine were found inside his car, was granted bail after pleading not guilty upon his arraignment on Saturday.

Liam Cassar, a 32-year old Paola resident, was targeted in an operation by the Drug Squad following confidential information about a suspected drug deal.

Police monitoring the suspect tracked down and blocked his vehicle at around 6:00pm on Friday while the man was driving along Tal-Barrani Road, Zejtun.

A search of the vehicle yielded two kilos of a white substance, suspected of being cocaine, which police found on the front seat wrapped up in garbage bags and placed inside a cardboard box.

The street value of the drug stood at around €180,000, the police said.

The suspect was taken into custody and was questioned.

Within less than 24 hours, he was escorted to court and charged with possessing the drug under circumstances indicating that it was not intended solely for personal use.

Under interrogation he had insisted that he was not aware of the drug in his possession, thinking that the package contained only money.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the solitary charge of aggravated possession.

A request for bail was objected to by prosecuting Inspector Marshal Mallia who underlined the serious nature of the crime which involved a significant amount of cocaine, as well as the fact that in his statement, the man had mentioned third parties.

However, defence lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb countered that although the suspect had a right to remain silent during interrogation, in this case Cassar had cooperated fully.

Moreover, the evidence was preserved in the records of the magisterial inquiry related to the incident.

In this case there were no civilian witnesses and besides, the accused had strong ties in Malta and also a stable job.

After hearing submissions by both parties the court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, upheld the request against a deposit of €10,000, a personal guarantee of €10,000, daily signing of the bail book and under a curfew between midnight and 5:00am.