Taxi driver charged with cocaine trafficking

The driver of a white taxi was granted bail after pleading not guilty to using his taxi to traffic cocaine in late February.

Patrick Gatt, a tall man with an unusual haircut, pleaded not guilty to trafficking in and possessing the drugs in circumstances denoting they were not for his exclusive use.

He also denied committing the crime within 100 metres from a place frequented by minors. During submissions on bail, Police Inspector Keith Arnaud said there was evidence the accused had been trafficking the drugs while working as a taxi driver.

He asked Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona to deny bail because of the seriousness of the charges.

Defence lawyer Roberto Montalto pleaded that his client had a wife and two children to look after and working as a taxi driver was the only income they had.

The magistrate pointed out that the accused should have thought of his responsibilities before committing the alleged crime.

After taking into consideration the arguments made, the magistrate decided to grant Mr Gatt bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 and a deposit of €2,000.