Records sent to Attorney General

The Magistrates' Court yesterday decided to dispatch the records of extradition proceedings, against a man wanted by the Italian authorities to stand trial for drug importation, to the Attorney General.

Magistrate Joseph Cassar ruled he was transmitting the records of the case against Romeo Bone to the Attorney General after taking note of pleas raised by the parties.

The pleas raised at the sitting before last were Dr Joseph Giglio's call on the court to declare the proceedings null on the grounds that the judicial time limits had elapsed.

He argued that the court had not requested an extension.

The argument was countered by counsel to the republic Donatella Frendo Dimech.

Dr Giglio had gone on to argue on the merits of the case, in the event that the magistrate decided there were no grounds for a declaration of nullity.

Dr Frendo Dimech had also made her submissions.

Bone, 26, is wanted by the Italian government for his alleged involvement in the importation of cocaine and cannabis from Holland to Catania last year.

Dr Giglio had claimed nullity after arguing that the time limit for the extradition proceedings had elapsed on January 20, two months after they were initiated, and the court had not asked for an extension of the judicial time limit.

In a follow-up argument, Dr Giglio had also called on the court to grant Bone bail on the grounds that he was being detained illegally.

He then went on to argue that his client should be discharged because he was being tried in Malta on the same charge and he could not be extradited for the same offence.

Dr Frendo Dimech had argued that the case was not necessarily null and, in any case, the law stated that the issue of nullity could only be raised once the bill of indictment was filed.

On the merits of the case, Dr Frendo Dimech said Bone was not being charged in Malta with quite the same offence because he could never be charged with importing drugs from Holland to Italy here.

After hearing the submissions, Magistrate Cassar had put off the case for a ruling to the next day.

But the next day he had said he needed more time to evaluate the points raised by both parties and put the case off to Tuesday.

In the meantime, he granted Bone bail on condition he does not leave his house without authorisation against a personal guarantee of Lm5,000.

On Tuesday, he put off the case to yesterday when he decided to send the records of the case to the Attorney General.

Police Inspectors Neil Harrison and Norbert Ciappara prosecuted, with the assistance of counsel to the republic Dr Donatella Frendo Dimech.

Dr Joseph Giglio was counsel to Bone.