Three drug suspects under house arrest

A magistrate yesterday granted bail to three Libyan men charged with drug conspiracy but bound them not to leave their house for any reason.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani-Grima bound Nabel Mohammed El Gamoudi, 24, Salem Suleiman Shoaib Rida, 22 and Saber Elkekli, 23, with a Lm1,000 deposit and a personal guarantee of Lm10,000.

They are pleading not guilty to the possession of cannabis resin in circumstances denoting it was not for their personal use.

They are also charged with conspiring to traffic in drugs while Elkekli alone stands charged with committing a crime during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

Rida alone is charged with the possession of cocaine.

The men were arrested after police seized some 19 bars of cannabis resin the size of a bar of soap from a shoe box between a flat in Triq il-Hawt, Swieqi, and the verandah of Il Giardino, a restaurant.

The case continues.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti is prosecuting.

Dr Giannella Caruana Curran is representing El Gamoudi and Rida while Dr Kris Busietta is appearing for Elkekli.