A Gozitan fireworks enthusiast has been handed a hefty €20,000 fine after being convicted of the illegal manufacture and storage of explosive material inside a field close to the Jesuit retreat house in Fontana.

Joseph Muscat, 46, from Victoria, was facing multiple charges relating to the storage of gunpowder and other explosive material used in the manufacture of fireworks in a place not covered by necessary police licence, with the illegal transportation of material and with manufacturing fireworks without necessary permits and licence.

The dangerous cache had been signalled to the authorities by means of an anonymous phone call to the Victoria police station that fireworks were being manufactured and stored in a field in the vicinity of Manresa House.

This wrongdoing merited a punishment which would serve as a deterrent not only to the accused himself but to all fireworks enthusiasts who might undertake such dangerous ventures

Officers went to the site and found a green container in an open field. The door to this container was open, revealing the illegal contents.

The owner of the container was on site and confirmed that the explosive material belonged to him and no-one else, adding that it was being used for the preparation of fireworks for the Fontana village feast.

Criminal action was instituted against the man, who alleged that some of the material had been handed over to him after a tragic incident at a fireworks factory belonging to a friend of his.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, after noting the testimony of 14 witnesses and upon the findings of court-appointed experts, declared that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Quoting from a joint statement issued by Gozitan parish priests on the issue of fireworks during village feasts, the court stressed that “no one was to breach the law in the name of some saint or another”.

What the accused had done was of ‘most serious nature’ since he had put not only his life but also that of innocent third parties in danger, the court observed.

This wrongdoing merited a punishment which would serve as a deterrent not only to the accused himself but to all fireworks enthusiasts who might undertake such dangerous ventures, the court continued, thereby declaring the accused guilty and ordering him to pay a €20,000 fine.

The accused was also to foot a €1817.84 bill covering court expert expenses. The container and its contents were confiscated upon court order.