Nigerian man indicted in drug charges for 2012 1kg drug bust

A Nigerian national has been indicted for dealing an illicit substance and conspiracy to traffic after he had been arrested in connection to a 2012 drug bust.

Kingsley Wilcox, 33, was arrested in connection with the arrest of another two men in 2012.

On 2 October, Drug Squad Police had been informed by custom officials at the Malta International Airport that another Nigerian man, Paul Ugochukwu, had been stopped after his arrival from Valencia, Spain, on suspicion that he may have been carrying illicit drugs.

While nothing was found in his possession, investigators were able to establish, through the contents on his mobile phone, that he intended to meet a third person at the Tropicana Hotel in Paceville.

The man, a Spanish national by the name of Jose Manuel Domingo Benito, had also just landed from Valencia.

When officers investigated his hotel room they found a luggage containing two sealed packages containing cocaine and cannabis resin.

Mr Wilcox was arrested after the police conducted a controlled delivery of the drugs.

The prosecution claims that Wilcox had intended to meet Benito in order to collect the cocaine “in exchange for a considerable sum of money” and that Wilcox had made arrangements to meet with other persons in Malta after taking charge of the drugs so as to hand them over for eventual distribution. Benito and unnamed Maltese nationals in- volved in the importation operation had also been arrested and were charged separately

The bill of indictment says that there was roughly 1kg worth of cocaine (1085.2g) which had a purity of 36.8% and a total street value of €86,824. It later transpired that other individuals were part of the deal.

Maltese nationals were arraigned in court in separate proceedings to answer to charges in connection to these crimes.

The bill says that Mr Wilcox had knowingly conspired with Jose Manuel Domingo Benito to traffic the illegal substance in Malta, and that Mr Wilcox was intent on meeting Mr Benito to collect the drugs in his possession in exchange for a considerable amount of money.

This meant that Mr Wilcox thusly “rendered himself guilty of conspiracy to trafficking in dangerous drugs.”

The bill also claims that the accused gave details to the authorities about the arrangement which had been made and which he was fully aware of prior to his arrest.

For the reasons outlined during the first count, the second and final count claims that Mr Wilcox also rendered himself guilty to having sold or dealt an illicit substance (cocaine) without a license or authorisation for the Minister responsible for Health.

Mr Wilcox chose not to engage a lawyer and will be conducting his own defence in his trial by jury.

Lawyers Nadia Attard and Kristina Debattista from the Office of the Attorney General are prosecuting.