Three men who broke into a property and made off with close to four kilos of cannabis before being apprehended by the police a few minutes later, were today charged with aggravated possession. The "victim" was also charged.
The burglary followed a long standing feud which had cost the eye of one of the men.
Luke Vella, 20 from Zabbar, and Kevin Joseph Zerafa, 31 from Marsascala, broke into the Luqa property of Dylan Azzopardi, 22, of Marsascala, and stole a bag containing some 3.5 kilos of cannabis resin and nearly 100 grams of cannabis grass.
They escaped in a getaway car driven by Rennie Fava, 21 from Zabbar, only to be apprehended some 20 metres away by the police, who were acting on an anonymous tip-off.
The three men were charged with aggravated possession as well as carrying a penknife.
Mr Fava was also charged with driving recklessly and smashing into a police car, as well as with carrying burglary tools and committing a crime while serving a suspended sentence.
Mr Zerafa was charged with committing a crime while serving a suspended sentence while Mr Vella was also charged with carrying burglary tools and being a repeat offender.
Meanwhile, Mr Azzopardi, was charged with aggravated possession. Half a kilo of cannabis was also found by the police in his garage.
Lawyer Joe Giglio, appearing for Mr Vella, told the court that his client had borrowed money from Mr Azzopardi, who is currently facing charges before a different court after he allegedly held Mr Vella against his will and beat him up. Mr Vella went blind from one eye following the attack.
Mr Azzopardi, who was known as a loan shark, offered Mr Vella €5,000 by way of compensation, Dr Giglio said. Mr Vella rejected the offer, deeming the amount to be miserly.
Mr Vella then decided to take the law into his own hands and broke into Mr Azzopardi's house together with the other two men "to steal whatever they came across", Dr Giglio argued.
On the roof of the residence, they found a bag containing bundles wrapped in brown paper. The men thought that these were stacks of money or gold as they were unaware that Mr Azzopardi dealt in drugs, Dr Giglio posited.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto, appearing for Mr Fava, argued that his client had been driving the getaway vehicle and had not entered the house or retrieved the package.
Lawyer Franco Debono, appearing Mr Zerafa, argued that the trio should be granted bail because, as co-accused, they were not competent witnesses and there was, therefore, no fear of tampering of evidence.
Lawyer Veronique Dalli appeared for Mr Azzopardi. Inspector Justine Grech prosecuted.
Magistrate Audrey Demicoli granted all four men bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €4,000, on condition that they sign a bail book daily and observe a curfew.
As the charges relate to drug trafficking, the men's assets are being frozen.