A German national residing in Malta who walked into a police station to file a report got more than he bargained for when he was taken under immediate arrest as there were three separate European Arrest Warrants calling for his extradition.
Erwin Aloysius Funk, 41, residing at Sta Venera, who is facing time behind bars in Germany over convictions for drug trafficking, swindling and driving without a licence, was this afternoon escorted to court as extradition proceedings against him got underway.
The man went to the police station at Malta International Airport to file a report alleging that he had been the victim of a theft.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, heard how local police authorities had been alerted about Mr Funk’s wanted status through the Schengen Information System.
Sources speaking to this newspaper revealed that last Saturday the man went to the police station at Malta International Airport to file a report alleging that he had been the victim of a theft.
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Officers taking down the complainant’s particulars soon discovered that the man had been targeted by two European Arrest Warrants issued by a court in Trier, Germany on July 18, 2017. An earlier Arrest Warrant had been issued on June 30, 2017 by a court in Mainz.
The man was immediately placed under arrest and arraigned today to undergo extradition proceedings.
Seated in the dock, visibly shaken and crying, the man listened helplessly as the court analysed the documentary evidence presented by the prosecution in support of the extradition request issued by the German authorities.
In the presence of two representatives from the German Embassy in Malta, the court heard how the man had been convicted before the German courts over accusations of drug trafficking, swindling and driving without a licence.
A custodial sentence that had been suspended by the German courts, had for some reason been rendered enforceable thereby making the accused liable to serve his time in prison.
The court put off the case for the production of supplementary evidence necessary to decide upon the extradition request.
Inspector Sandra Zammit prosecuted and lawyers Mario Mifsud and Clint Tabone assisted the requested person.