Five arrested in St Paul's Bay raid with cannabis among 150 sachets
Five people including a 16-year-old girl were arrested in St Paul's Bay after police found about 150 sachets of suspected heroin, cocaine and cannabis, plus about €5,000 and phones. One 20-year-old accused pleaded not guilty to cannabis and cocaine possession and was granted bail on a €1,000 deposit and €10,000 guarantee.
Five people, including a 16-year-old girl, were arrested in St Paul’s Bay in
connection with suspected drug trafficking.[1][2][3][4][5][6]Police carried out the initial
operation on Monday evening, searching an apartment after receiving information
about alleged drug-related activity.[1][2][3][4][6]Four people were arrested during the
raid, a 25-year-old man, two 20-year-old men and the 16-year-old girl.[1][2][3][4][6]One
suspect tried to flee but was immediately apprehended by officers.[1][2][3][4][6]A
27-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the same
investigation, bringing the total detained to five.[1][2][3][4][6]The Monday raid and the
Tuesday arrest were treated as part of the same trafficking investigation.[1]
During the apartment search police found about 150 sachets containing substances
suspected to be heroin, cocaine and cannabis.[1][2][3][4][6]Officers also seized about
€5,000 in cash and several mobile phones.[1][2][3][4][6]
Magistrate Renata Farrugia launched an inquiry and appointed experts to
establish the circumstances of the case.[1][2][3]Some of those arrested were
expected to be arraigned at about midday on Wednesday before Magistrate Astrid
May Grima.[1][2][6]Police investigations were still ongoing.[1]
The two 20-year-olds were taken to court before Magistrate Astrid May Grima.[3]Both accused pleaded not guilty.[3]One of the two accused was kept under arrest.[3]The court ordered that the name of both accused not be shared.[3][4]
A 20-year-old man pleaded not guilty to possessing cannabis and cocaine allegedly for purposes other than personal use and to breaching bail conditions imposed last June.[4]The court granted him bail on a €1,000 deposit and a €10,000 personal guarantee.[4][5]He was ordered to sign the bail book every Monday, Thursday and Sunday between 7am and 7pm and to observe a curfew between 9pm and 7am.[4]The prosecution did not object to bail, saying release would not prejudice proceedings and there was no fear of evidence being tampered with.[4][5]The defence argued the drug quantities were very small and asked the court not to impose a substantial deposit.[4][5]Duty Magistrate Astrid May Grima presided over the arraignment.[4]Inspector Francesco Mizzi led the prosecution, while lawyer Jacob Magri appeared for the accused.[4][5]
Photos and video
The various items seized during the search, including cash and substances, laid out for photo. Photo: Malta Police ForcePhoto details
The about 150 sachets held suspected heroin, cocaine and cannabis together, with no separate cannabis count or weight published, so no cannabis quantity is recorded.
Monday evening corresponds to 2 November, Tuesday to 3 November and the expected arraignment today to 4 November from the 4 November publication date; no separate calendar dates were given.
About €5,000 in cash and mobile phones were seized, but no cannabis-only valuation was published.
No names were published and no charges or court outcome were yet reported.
Only one accessible source for this event was found after searching in English; no police statement or second outlet account could be opened.
It is not reported which of the two men arraigned remained detained or the grounds for continued detention.
The prior June bail conditions the 20-year-old was accused of breaching were not described.
No weights for the cannabis and cocaine attributed to the bailed accused were published, only that the defence called the quantities very small.
No separate cannabis weight or count for the bailed accused was published, only that the defence called the quantities very small, so no cannabis quantity is recorded.
A 45-year-old Moroccan man arrested at Malta International Airport with about 150 capsules of suspected cannabis resin in his stomach was arraigned before Magistrate Abigail Critien. He pleaded not guilty to importing cannabis resin not for personal use and association with drug trafficking and was remanded in custody.
Solomon Haile, 32, and Mohammed Eisa, 25, pleaded not guilty in Malta to cocaine trafficking and, for Haile, cannabis possession and selling cannabis without a licence, after a drug squad surveillance operation in St Julian’s. Their lawyers did not request bail, and no quantity or value was published for either drug.
Malta police arrested seven people in two separate drug-trafficking investigations, six at a property and a drinking establishment in Marsa and a 39-year-old man at a St Julian's residence. The Marsa searches yielded about 165 packets of suspected drugs and €5,600 in cash, and the St Julian's home about 100 grams of suspected synthetic cannabis; four of the seven were due in court.
Pedro Da Costa Masi, a 29-year-old Brazilian resident of Mellieħa, was arrested after collecting suspicious parcels at Maltapost and arraigned with charges linked to about nine kilograms of cannabis in the post and further drugs at his home, including six cannabis plants over the legal limit.
