Man found in possession of 25kg of cocaine with estimated street value of €1.5 million denied bail

A 38-year-old man was remanded in custody after allegedly trying to import €1.5 million in cocaine from Sicily to Malta.

Greek national Kleon Andrikopoulos was stopped during vehicle checks as cars were disembarking from the catamaran on Thursday evening. He was driving an Opel and began acting suspiciously.

The vehicle was taken to the police garage, where a search uncovered 25 packets of suspected cocaine, each weighing one kilo, hidden inside false wooden compartments along the car’s sides.

Photo: Malta Police

On Saturday, the prosecution explained that the accused was arrested on the spot after the discovery of the drugs.

The defence contested the accused’s arrest, claiming that the accused didn’t understand English and so wasn’t properly informed of his rights during his arrest. The prosecution retorted, saying that the accused was shown a document in Greek and that he was informed of his rights.

The magistrate ruled that the arrest was valid.

The court also imposed a freezing order on the accused, as he was remanded in custody.

The prosecution was led by Inspector Francesco Mizzi, Inspector John Leigh Howard, and Daniel Tabone from the AG's office. The accused was represented by Franco Debono and Nicholas Mifsud.