Hotel manager charged with stealing pistol

A hotel duty manager was this morning remanded in custody after he pleaded not guilty to stealing a pistol worth €2,500 and being in possession of fake euros and heroin.

Jeffrey Busuttil, 34, of Mqabba also pleaded not guilty to handling stolen property, being in possession of the pistol without the necessary permits and relapsing.

Mr Busuttil, who has spent time in prison for theft, was also found in possession of tools used for breaking into property, mainly two screwdrivers, a gripper and a pair of gloves. He was also charged with disobeying police orders.

Mr Busuttil was allegedly caught by policemen on patrol in Kirkop. Police Inspector Ian Abdilla said in court that the police noticed a suspicious looking vehicle at around 3.30 a.m. and two men escaped from it as soon as the police approached.

The police caught Mr Busuttil but the other man escaped. The firearm, drugs, tools and counterfeit money were found in the car. At the time, Mr Busuttil was meant to be at work.

Defence counsel Arthur Azzopardi denied that his client was meant to be at work and said his client was off duty so he could do whatever he wanted.

He noted that Mr Busuttil was not charged with attempted theft and had cooperated with the police.

Dr Azzopardi said that while serving time in prison, his client had studied for and obtained his A levels and turned his life around.