Father, sons remanded over drugs bust
A father and his two teenage sons were escorted to jail yesterday after being denied bail over their alleged involvement in a drug bust of over 100 sachets containing different drugs.
The 39-year-old father and his two sons, aged 19 and 17, were stopped in Cospicua by the police who were acting on a report by police community officers about potential drug trafficking taking place in the village square.
During a search, the police found some 80 sachets containing a substance suspected to be cocaine, together with 16 sachets of suspected heroin and five bags of suspected cannabis.
All three were arrested and taken to court where they pleaded not guilty to aggravated drug possession.
The court imposed a ban on the publication of their names since the youngest defendant was only 17 and was, therefore, still a minor. They denied possession of the substances in circumstances indicating they were not solely for their personal consumption.
The prosecution objected to a request for bail, arguing that almost 100 sachets of drugs had been seized by the police. Furthermore, there was a strong risk of further crimes being committed should the defendants be released from arrest.
Prosecution objected to a request for bail
Lawyer Franco Debono, for the defence, argued that, despite the quantity of sachets found by the police, the three were not charged with drug trafficking but with aggravated possession.
The total weight of the drugs was around 20 grams, Debono said, adding that the intention behind the Drug (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act was to recommend treatment instead of imprisonment.
The court denied bail at this stage, ruling that it felt the defendants did not provide the court with peace of mind that they could respect the bail conditions, one of which was that of not committing other crimes while on bail.
They were, therefore, remanded in custody.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi and Mark Mifsud Cutajar were defence counsel. Police inspectors Alfredo Mangion and Mark Cremona prosecuted.