Drug charges may have to be dropped

New developments in the case against a Briton, charged with smuggling over 50,000 ecstasy pills into Malta, may lead to some or all of the charges being dropped.

In his testimony on Tuesday, court expert Mario Mifsud said that tests on the pills showed they did not contain the chemical found in ecstasy, as listed in Maltese drug laws, but contained another unscheduled drug.

This conclusion may have a pivotal bearing on the case against Steven John Lewis Marsden since now it is to be decided whether the charges of importing ecstasy and conspiring to deal in drugs still stand, sources told The Times.

In light of these developments, documents of the case against Mr Marsden have been sent to the Attorney General who is to regulate his position on the charges.

Mr Marsden is pleading not guilty to conspiring to deal in over 50,000 ecstasy pills and importing the drugs from Spain in July.

In their testimonies Police Inspectors Norbert Ciappara and Dennis Theuma, prosecuting, had explained how Mr Marsden had been apprehended by police when he arrived in Malta, from Sicily, aboard a catamaran on July 9.

Following long hours of intensive searches, the police found over 14 kilogrammes of pills hidden between panels of his Mitsubishi Pajero.

They also said that, when Mr Marsden eventually released a statement to the police, he explained that he had accepted to act as a drug courier because he faced financial problems.

During his testimony on Tuesday the court expert told the court that analysis showed that the pills did not contain the drug MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), which is listed in Maltese law.

It however contained the drug mCPP (1-(3-chlorophenyl) piperazine) which is not scheduled under our law.

The Attorney General is now to decide on whether or not the case against Mr Marsden will go on and on which charges still stand.

The case was put off to October 27.

Lawyers Leslie Cuschieri and Daniela Mangion are defence counsel.