A security officer at Malta Freeport, a customs officer and a stevedore accused of a €1 million contraband cigarettes operation were today granted bail.
The accused are stevedore Rokku (Rocky) Agius, 53, of Żebbuġ, Freeport assistant security officer Michael Sciberras, 39, of Valletta and customs officer Billy Grech, 44, of Żejtun.
Mr Sciberras and Mr Grech are accused of having abused of their authority as employees of Malta Freeport and Customs and of having had in their possession 450 boxes of contraband cigarettes, with each box containing 10,000 Empire Royals cigarettes.
All three are pleading not guilty.
The consignment was brought to Malta on board the CMA Verdi on February 2.
Mr Sciberras and Mr Grech were granted bail against a deposit of €2,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000 while Mr Agius was made to make a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000.
The court heard today that the actual value of the cigarettes taken was not only far lower than claimed by the government but it was also more than likely that the cigarettes were fake and worthless.
In a passionate plea for bail, defence lawyer Edward Gatt told the court that evidence tendered showed that the three men were being held in prison for a “messed up” case over fake cigarettes.
Standing in agreement with Dr Gatt, defence lawyers Giannella de Marco, Veronique Dalli and Paul Lia, also argued that their clients should be released immediately.
Dr Gatt told Magistrate Aaron Bugeja that there were at least four cases in every sitting before the superior courts over fake cigarettes passing through Malta, cigarettes which were subsequently destroyed “and we leave people in prison over this”.
He noted that a claim had not even been lodged by the company that was meant to receive the cargo.
A representative of CMA CGM, the company shipping the cigarettes to Libya, said that the value of the cigarettes was $66,000, equivalent to some €47,000.
The taxes and import duties on the cigarettes as claimed by the police amounted to €908,320.
Suspicions that the cigarettes were counterfeit were raised by customs officials at the Freeport who noted the container came from Dubai and was destined for Libya.
Both countries are considered to be of “high interest”, Romeo Dimech, a senior inspector at the Freeport said, adding that this position was taken following a number of seizures of counterfeit items in similar circumstances.