Two women, 21, charged in connection with 11kg cocaine haul

Following last month’s arraignment of two individuals from Panama on drug-running charges, the police have this evening charged another two Panamanians in connection with the same plot to import some 11 kilograms of cocaine in a suitcase’s false bottom. 

In an after-hours sitting, magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard 21-year-old students-cum-fast foot workers Iriceth Vanessa Carabia Araujom and Anays Cecile Gonzalez Estribi, plead not guilty to conspiring to import and sell the drug.

The two women were charged with conspiracy to import and deal in prohibited substances, importation of cocaine and possession of cocaine in circumstances denoting it was not for their personal use.  In addition, the pair was also charged with possession of cannabis.

Lawyer Joseph Mizzi, who is appearing on behalf of the accused, requested that the court order a ban on the publication of the names of the accused, citing possible negative repercussions on the women, however the court did not accede to this request. 

Bail was not requested and the women were remanded in custody.

As is the norm in drug trafficking cases, the court ordered that all assets belonging to the accused be frozen, pending proceedings.

The arraignment comes almost a month to the day after the women’s compatriots; 21 year-old Lorena Vanessa Hernandez Munoz and 20-year old Hector Antonio Montenegro Martinez were charged with attempting to import over 11 kilograms of cocaine. Munoz and Martinez had been arrested upon their arrival at the airport, after customs officials noticed their suitcases were unusually heavy, even when emptied. Customs officials had found the cocaine after piercing the bottom of Martinez’s luggage.

All four Panamanians claim to have come to Malta to study English. All four have now been denied bail and remain in preventive custody.