Accused reacts vociferously to bail conditions

One of 19 men facing drug conspiracy charges yesterday started shouting in a court room when the presiding magistrate set his bail conditions.

Alfred Bugeja, known as Il-Porporina, started shouting and hurling insults when he learnt that Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera was not satisfied with him having exhibited the log book of the car to serve as a bail bond but wanted him to physically hand over the car to the court.

Magistrate Scerri Herrera ordered that Mr Bugeja be detained for five days for contempt of court. On hearing this, the accused asked the magistrate why she had not ordered him jailed for five years.

Co-accused Charles Muscat, Il-Pips, stood up and he too started shouting. This happened when Superintendent Neil Harrison ordered that Mr Bugeja and Mr Muscat be escorted out of the court room.

Mr Bugeja then directed his insults at the superintendent and as he was being escorted away from the hall, where the sitting was held, he was heard shouting that the courts had granted bail to men charged with importing seven kilogrammes of drugs.

Mr Bugeja and Mr Muscat had been charged with conspiring to deal in drugs in Malta and Italy in 2002 together with another 17 defendants.