Three migrants told the police that they paid a foreign man €850 each to help them leave Malta illegally but nothing came of this arrangement, a court was told today.

The three migrants, two from Mali and one from Guinea, were arraigned this afternoon and accused of trying to leave the island illegally and without the necessary documents.

Police Inspector Edel Mary Camilleri explained to the court how the migrants had paid somebody to help them escape, but the arrangements fell through. The man with whom the arrangements were allegedly made would be arraigned later this week.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella conditionally discharged the migrants for three years .