Two Algerian captains who last Saturday separately sailed their fishing trawlers into a Maltese port without notifying the Fisheries Department beforehand were fined €2,000 each by a court today. 

Nasreddine Benounis, 49, and Mourad Kebdani, 34 were arraigned this morning before magistrate Francesco Depasquale and charged with breaching European regulation EC1005/2008.

Mr Benounis was navigating a vessel by the name of Beni Louma, while Mr Kebdani entered the Maltese ports with a fishing trawled named Chahid Hasni Saidi. Both vessels are registered in Algeria.

According to European directives, sea vessels are required to give at least 72 hours notice to the Fisheries and Aquaculture department before making a port call in any EU member state.

Lawyers Dean Hili and Veronique Dalli, who acted as defence counsel to the Algerians, entered a guilty plea on behalf of the men. As a result of their admission, the court found the men guilty and fined them €2,000 each. They are expected to leave Malta in the next hours.

Police inspectors Priscilla Caruana Lee and Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted

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