An informer who led the police to bust a large cannabis trafficking operation in Xemxija six years ago was not credible, the lawyers of the two men charged over the trafficking ring have claimed.
The informer’s sole intent was to qualify for a reduced sentence, as he had other pending cases and so had every motive to blame the defendants to save his own skin, the court heard.
Godfrey Gambin, 40, from Iklin, and Adel Mohammed Babani, 51 are standing trial for having allegedly trafficked 19.4kg of cannabis, estimated to be worth €125.000. The two were apprehended in June 2010 during a police operation together with Nabeil Ibrahim Saleh, 44 following a controlled delivery on a boat.
Mr Saleh had been granted bail in 2012 but is believed to have absconded to Libya shortly after his release.
The drug consignment had been delivered to Fekruna Bay and subsequently loaded onto the men’s car. The defendants had disposed of the cannabis resin as soon as they were stopped by the police.
During this morning’s session, former assistant commissioner and onetime Drug Squad chief Neil Harrison, who was in charge of the operation, continued to testify. He was grilled at length about why he had only revealed that this had been a controlled delivery yesterday, on the first day of the trial.
Mr Harrison insisted that he wanted to safeguard the identity of the informer, who he said was on the boat. Though he did not disclose any further details, the defence claimed Jesmond Vella, known as Il-Bulgaru, was the man in question.
Defence lawyer Alfred Abela pointed out that police had discarded a statement given by Mr Saleh as it was not taken under oath, and hence could not be used as evidence in court.
Mr Harrison justified this decision, saying that Mr Saleh - who he described as the “mastermind” of the operation - had “malicious intents”. His statement was therefore not given a lot of weight, especially in the wake of the fact that on the previous day Mr Saleh’s brother had threatened the informer, Mr Harrison added.
Furthermore, Mr Saleh’s statement did not reflect the exchanges he had with the informer, the court heard. Mr Harrison pointed out that the police used to monitor these conversations, as the informer used to set his mobile on speaker phone.
Dr Abela argued that the informer had tipped off the police to create a decoy and allow the boat to unload a much larger consignment of drugs in Gozo, prior to its final destination in Xemxija. But the former assistant commissioner discarded such a possibility, saying that no such reports had been ever received from the sister island.
The defence also questioned the reason why the informer had been allowed to leave the scene of the crime on the same boat, with Mr Harrison once again justifying the decision saying it had been a controlled delivery.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Alfred Abela and Mario Mifsud are appearing for Mr Gambin whereas Dr Malcolm Mifsud is appearing for Mr Babani.
Lawyers Giannella Camilleri Busuttil and Nadia Attard from the Office of the Attorney General are prosecuting. Madam Justice Edwina Grima is presiding the trial.