Drug importation trial: Accused claims he believed drug was a fertiliser

A man who is pleading not guilty to the importation of amphetamines had claimed the drug was a fertiliser and later that it was a lubricant.

Martin Spiteri, 36 from Zejtun, stands charged with the importation of and possession of the drug in circumstances which denote it was not for his exclusive use.

Inspector Dennis Theuma told the Court that the accused had acquired a kilo of the drug from The Netherlands as a paste, took it to Frankfurt and then came to Malta with the intention to import it.

During routine checks Mr Spiteri was stopped on arrival from Frankfurt, his bags were checked and the substance was found in the bottom of one of them.

Originally he said that the translucent, dirty white thick paste was a fertilizer but when questioned a second time he said it was a lubricant that was used on a rig that produced natural gas.

In the luggage, he also had nine grammes of cannabis and ecstasy, one gramme of cocaine and another seven grammes of cannabis and drug paraphernalia were found at his home.

The investigations were suspended until the substance was analysed. These established the drug to be amphetamine.

The accused claimed he did not know this was the case.