A customs officer at the Freeport exit breached standard procedure by failing to inspect the contents of a container which was subsequently linked to the smuggling of 10.5 million cigarettes, a court heard yesterday.
The evidence emerged when the police confronted one of the suspects in this case, Pierre Delicata, with footage taken from security cameras installed at the Freeport.
Mr Delicata, who was also on duty when the case occurred on August 7, yesterday took the witness stand in the compilation of evidence against haulier Malcolm Zammit, security officer Christopher Calleja, customs officer Sebastian Zammit, and Freeport employee Roderick Borg. The four men are accused of being involved in the theft of a container laden with cigarettes which went missing for 90 minutes from the Freeport, only to be returned back without its contents. All of the accused have denied the charges but have been denied bail.
During yesterday’s proceedings before Magistrate Anthony Vella, the prosecution led by inspector Carlos Cordina summoned a number of customs officers to testify.
The court heard how Mr Delicata had been interrogated by the police as he was one of the two customs officers on duty at the Freeport gate, alongside Sebastian Zammit, one of the accused.
Mr Delicata recalled that on the day he had seen the container in question loaded on a trailer, ready to be taken out of the terminal through a particular lane dedicated to empty containers. Initially he could not recall what happened next as he had to inspect the documentation of another container.
That would be blasphemy
However, when confronted with CCTV footage during interrogation, he recognised his colleague, who at no point had opened the container to inspect its contents, contrary to standard procedure.
Asked by the defence if there could be exceptions for not making such verifications, Mr Delicata was categorical. “That would be blasphemy,” he said.
He added that on certain occasions empty containers would be sealed as a precaution against stowaways.
The witness also questioned the presence of a van which appeared right behind the container, saying it did not respect the standard buffer zone of eight to 10 feet – enough to allow the opening of the container’s doors.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto, who was defence counsel for Mr Zammit, referred to the testimony given earlier by another customs officer Jerome Azzopardi.
Mr Azzopardi had said that on the day, the accused was meant to be on duty at Laboratory Wharf in Kordin, but was only called half an hour before the start of his shift to replace a sick colleague at the Freeport.
This showed that it was only by coincidence that the accused was present when the case occurred and not as a result of a well-crafted plan, Dr Montalto said.
The case was adjourned until September 10.