Man rescued from sea charged with trafficking in illegal immigrants

Reuben Galea, 29, of Msida, was yesterday granted bail after he was accused of associating himself with others to take illegal immigrants out of Malta yesterday week.

Galea was reported missing last Sunday and was found by a fisherman more than 60 miles off Malta with five illegal immigrants on board.

These immigrants, two Libyans and three Chinese, were yesterday charged in court and were sentenced to a month's imprisonment after pleading guilty to leaving Malta without leave from the immigration authorities.

The accused were taken to court some time before noon but were then taken back to police headquarters for an identification parade.

When they were taken to court again at 2.25 p.m., the court was informed that the police were investigating a 25-year-old man from Swieqi who was likely to be charged in connection with the case, and the illegal immigrants and Galea had been taken as their presence was needed for an identification parade.

Dr Jason Azzopardi, who appeared for Galea, argued that his client had been detained for longer than the 48 hours prescribed by law as he had been arrested on 1 p.m. on Thursday, and hence had to be charged in court by 1 p.m. yesterday.

Police Inspector Mario Haber, who prosecuted, argued that the accused had boarded an AFM patrol boat at 1 p.m., after being rescued, and was arrested at 3 p.m.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Denis Montebello, said the AFM were to be condoned for carrying out the salvage operation and noted that the accused had been asked to board the patrol boat from a fishing boat he was on, but was in no way constrained to board. Hence it could not be argued that he was arrested.

The court upheld a request by the defence for bail and had initially ordered that he should pay a deposit of Lm800 and be bound by a personal guarantee of Lm2,000, but following pleas by the defence about the financial situation of the accused, a bus driver who had a loan to pay and who had a wife who was pregnant, the court reduced the deposit to Lm500 and increased the personal guarantee to Lm2,300.

Sources yesterday said the accused had told the police in his statement to them that although he had told the immigrants he would be taking them to Sicily, he was in fact taking them on a boat trip that was meant to end in Gozo.

Sources close to immigration police said it was not the first time that immigrants were taken to Gozo instead of Sicily.