Police turned down sting operation offer
A convicted drug trafficker offered to help catch the recipient of half a kilo of cocaine in Malta but the police refused as it was “too risky ”. They vetoed the idea because they had no information about the person who was meant to receive the drugs...
A convicted drug trafficker offered to help catch the recipient of half a kilo of cocaine in Malta but the police refused as it was “too risky ”.
They vetoed the idea because they had no information about the person who was meant to receive the drugs in Qawra, Police Inspector Johann Fenech testified yesterday.
The Columbian drug trafficker at the centre of the case, 36-year-old Alexander Restrepo Diaz, was jailed for three years in Spain a few years ago after he was caught in possession of 800 grams of cannabis, the inspector said.
Mr Diaz landed in Malta last Tuesday carrying half a kilo of cocaine from Eindhoven. He had been handed the drugs by two African men, Inspector Fenech testified.
He told police the drug smuggling plan originated in Malta when he was on holiday with his wife and their two children. He met a man on a beach who offered him a job to make some quick cash and he took it.
Mr Diaz, who is pleading guilty to conspiring to import the drugs, said he had been to the island twice before last week.
Inspector Fenech said Mr Diaz spoke to him in a very frank manner and even offered to carry out a controlled delivery.
But he had no contact information for the person he was meant to give the drugs to and, after evaluating the situation, the police decided against the delivery.
The case and investigations continue.