Yacht captain denies drug possession charges

A yacht captain was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €1,000 after pleading not guilty to drug possession.

Captain Richard Alastair Cranston, 41, of the UK, pleaded not guilty to possessing 40 grammes of cocaine, 25 grammes of cannabis grass and cannabis resin.

Police inspector Victor Aquilina told the courts that Mr Cranston had already been found guilty by the courts in Sicily in December 2006 where he was convicted of trafficking in 3.75 kilogrammes of cocaine.

Yacht skipper Lindsey George Lynch, 40, also of the UK, pleaded guilty to having cocaine in his possession while sailing through Maltese territorial waters.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona conditionally discharged the man for one year after taking into consideration that the drug was in a small amount.

The two men, together with a Maltese woman, were arrested by the police after a drug find on a yacht berthed at Manoel Island on Wednesday.