A court today ordered the release of property that had been confiscated from a convicted drug trafficker by order of the Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Joseph Zammit Mc Keon delivered this judgement following an application filed by Nazzareno Muscat against the Police Commissioner.

Mr Muscat told the court that last February he had been convicted of association in the trafficking of cannabis and that the Criminal Court had ordered the confiscation of all his property in favour of the government.

But Mr Muscat claimed that the confiscated property had not been acquired from the proceeds of a crime and he requested the First Hall of the Civil Court to release the property in his favour.

The court observed that the properties which had been held by Mr Muscat included 15 motor vehicles, shares in three immovable properties, his home, two garages belonging to Pesca Azzurra Ltd and shares in this latter company. The court also court noted that Mr Muscat had only requested the release of his home and the furniture situated in it, the garages belonging to Pesca Azzurra Ltd and the Lm6,458 in cash which had been confiscated from the police after it was found on his person and in his home.

Mr Justice Zammit McKeon released the shares in the three immovable properties belonging to Mr Muscat as they had been derived from an inheritance. The home was also released as Mr Muscat had purchased the land in 1989, prior to his arrest and conviction on drug charges.

The court said no evidence had been forthcoming to show that the shares in the company and the two garages had been acquired through the proceeds of crime. They were therefore also released.

The court refused to release the cash that had been confiscated from Mr Muscat.

Mrs Muscat told the court that Lm10,000 by her parents and that Lm5,318 represented the balance after she spent some of it. The court noted, however, that Mrs Muscat could not explain what she had spent the balance of the cash on, nor had she produced her parents or other members of her family to confirm her version of events.

Lm1,140 which were confiscated by the police after they were found hidden on Mr Muscat's body were also confiscated after the court concluded that Mr Muscat had not produced a satisfactory explanation as to how he had obtained this money.