Undercover policing and close collaboration with customs officers, nabbed a couple who had been sent a parcel from abroad containing a kilogram of synthetic drugs.
After intercepting the suspicious parcel containing the illegal substance that had arrived from Holland, the police were informed by customs and sent a decoy to its intended recipient instead.
The fake package was accepted and led the police to descend on the Żurrieq couple and charge them in court with drug importation and possession in circumstances denoting it was not for their personal use.
Keith Vassallo, 35, and his wife Maria Christina, 28, both public sector employees, appeared before Magistrate Josette Demicoli and pleaded not guilty to all the charges brought against them, including that they committed the crime within a distance of 100 metres from a place frequented by young people.
Man arraigned on cocaine and weapons charges
A man has been remanded in custody on drugs and weapons charges
16 March 2021, 1:38pm
by Matthew Agius
A man from Marsa has been remanded in custody on drugs and weapons charges.
38-year-old Frederick Dalli was arraigned before magistrate Doreen Clarke, accused by Inspector Alfredo Mangion of possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm without a licence, failing to inform the Commissioner of Police that he had come into possession of a firearm and breaching no less than four bail decrees.
Dalli, who is no stranger to the criminal justice system with several convictions to his name, was also accused of recidivism.
A man spared jail for allegedly breaching a court ban last summer thanks to a family barbecue alibi landed back in police custody on Tuesday.
Frederick Dalli, a 38-year-old Marsa resident, was escorted to court and charged with unlawful possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm without a police licence, breaching four bail decrees and relapsing.
The man risks forfeiting some €33,000 in bail guarantees.
Upon his arraignment, Dalli pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody by Magistrate Doreen Clarke.
His lawyers, Arthur Azzopardi and Mario Mifsud, made no request for bail at the arraignment stage.
Inspector Alfredo Mangion prosecuted.
A man arrested by police patrolling the streets of Marsa on Sunday was denied bail on Tuesday upon his arraignment over drug-related charges.
Haadi Mohammed, a 30-year-old construction worker from Ghana, was spotted in the company of some other seven persons by RIU officers patrolling the area of Triq Diċembru 13 at around 1.30pm.
Upon sensing police presence, the group dispersed but Mohammed landed under arrest after the officers discovered some 36 sachets of cannabis, seven pieces of cannabis resin, €280 in cash, and an old Lm5 banknote.
At his arraignment, the man pleaded not guilty to possessing the drugs under circumstances indicating that they were not intended solely for personal use, further aggravated by the fact that the alleged offences occurred within 100 metres of a place frequently visited by youths.
A woman, arrested on Saturday when her St Lucija home was targeted in a drug raid, has been remanded in custody.
Sandra Schieda, 48, was escorted to court afte