Immigrants paid amounts ranging between $150-$1,050 for escape

Illegal immigrants who escaped from police headquarters in July told police they had paid fees ranging from $150 to $1,050 to get away from Malta, a court heard yesterday.

Police Inspector Jeffrey Cilia said that when he was questioning eight of the 54 immigrants who had escaped from the headquarters they told him they had paid different sums.

"Some said they paid $150, some $900, some $1,050 and others Lm300. One Turkish man said he had paid Philip Azzopardi $800 by transferring money from a bank account in Germany into Azzopardi's bank account."

Inspector Cilia testified before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti in the compilation of evidence against Azzopardi, 59, of Birkirkara, and Joseph Vella, 47, of Marsalforn, who are pleading not guilty to assisting illegal immigrants escape from police custody and conspiring to help people leave the island clandestinely.

They are also charged with holding people against their will at the Marsalforn Hotel and harbouring wanted people at the hotel and other places in Malta and Gozo.

Inspector Cilia said that on August 8 police caught 14 illegal immigrants, six of whom had escaped from headquarters.

During questioning, the immigrants told police they had been hiding at the Xemxija Bay Hotel. Police searched the hotel where they found another two of the escaped immigrants.

The eight immigrants told police about the escape. They said that once they left headquarters they met a man called David near the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

David phoned Azzopardi from a nearby phone booth and soon after Azzopardi arrived in a car and drove the immigrants away in several trips.

Four men said Azzopardi took them to the Xemxija Bay Hotel, three men said he took them to a garage and another man said he took him to a house.

The four men who were taken to the hotel said that some time later Azzopardi picked them up and took them to a guest house in Gozo.

Then, on August 8, they were picked up by a van belonging to Francis Xerri, Vella's friend, and driven to a boat where a man and a woman were waiting.

They went to Malta where a van was waiting for them. As they were driving they stopped a couple of times to pick up more, immigrants, then Azzopardi collected money from those who had not yet paid.

The couple and Azzopardi eventually left and police caught them.

On August 10 police searched the Marsalforn Guest House and arrested Vella who denied involvement. Azzopardi turned himself in after hearing that police had been looking for him.

Xerri was also arrested and is currently undergoing separate proceedings in connection with the same case.

The case continues.