Bail granted to three arraigned after Marsa drug raid finds kilo of heroin
Three persons arrested on Tuesday in connection with the raid carried out by the Drug Squad, the Special Intervention Unit, the Dog Section and the District Police at a stable on Triq Is-Serkin, Marsa have been granted bail.
In total five had been arrested, but two have not yet been arraigned. Those arrested are aged between 22 and 39.
A police issued a statement late Tuesday saying that suspected heroin was found ready to be distributed for trafficking. The statement also said that, “during the arrests, the place where some of these persons were found caught fire, however the immediate intervention of both the police and members of the Civil Protection Department saved these persons together with some animals” found there.
None of the three people arraigned yesterday were charged with arson. The statement continued to say that “a Magisterial Inquiry, together with a police investigation, are underway”.
Bail was granted to 39-year-old Jason Borg. Borg, from Birkirkara, who is the owner of the property where the raid was carried out, was arraigned first and pleaded not guilty to being in possession of the suspected heroin, in circumstances that denote that it was not for personal use.
Lawyer Alfred Abela, representing Borg together with lawyer Veronique Dalli, stressed that his client had already made a sworn statement before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja saying that he had no idea about the contents of the bags which the police found with suspected heroin. He told the court that Borg had already incriminated the others who were arrested, and would be held in the same place as them.
Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, presiding over the case granted Borg bail against a deposit of €2,500 and a personal guarantee of €5,000.
Next to be jointly arraigned were 25-year-old Nicholas Farrugia and 22-year-old Shana Farrugia. Both were charged with being in possession of heroin not for personal use, while the Nicholas Farrugia was charged with keeping animals in substandard conditions.
Lawyer Franco Debono represented Shana Farrugia, unemployed, while lawyer Arthur Azzopardi represented Nicholas, a stable assistant.
Prosecuting inspector Gabriel Micallef objected to bail, due to the gravity of the offence and the possibility of tampering with the evidence. Debono confirmed that the witnesses in question had already delivered a sworn statement, and said that “in an inquiry, you cannot retract a sworn statement without incurring criminal penalties for false oaths.”
Debono continued to say that he contests Shana’s involvement, adding that he will argue that she is innocent “with all his strength”.
Arguing in defence of Nicholas, Azzopardi held that should the courts withhold bail, the accused could be held in custody for a very long period of time since proceedings take a minimum of four years and witnesses have every right not to testify, a right that is in place until proceedings are over.
He argued that the testimony given under oath before a magisterial inquiry is standalone evidence, completely separate from what is said by the witness on the stand.
He stressed that each case is serious and questioned whether his client will be reprimanded in custody for an indefinite period of time.
The court upheld the defence’s arguments, releasing Shana Farrugia and Nick Farrugia, who told the court that he did not have a valid ID card or a valid passport, from arrest under similar conditions, which included a curfew deposit €5000 and a personal guarantee of €5000.