Teddy bear drug smuggler jailed

A woman who was on the run in England has finally been brought to justice for importing almost 5,000 ecstasy pills into Malta hidden inside a teddy bear in 2006.

Rita Bugeja, 53, of Qormi, was jailed yesterday for 12 years and fined €23,500.

She had failed to turn up in court last November and went missing.

She was then arrested in the UK on the basis of an international arrest warrant and granted bail, only to abscond a second time and be re-arrested.

In the bill of indictment, the Attorney General said Ms Bugeja had agreed to import the pills after being approached by a man in the UK who asked her to take the pills hidden in a soft toy.

On arrival she had to wait for instructions from the same man to deliver them. However, this plan was thwarted by the police who caught her at the airport.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia yesterday jailed her after considering her admission.