A man accused of conspiring to import kilograms of cocaine and heroin has walked out of court a free man after being acquitted on the basis of a lack of evidence linking him to the crimes.

John Camilleri, 51, from Mqabba, brother of Emanuel, commonly known as ‘il-Bully’, stood accused of conspiring to import 2kg of cocaine, 1kg of heroin and around 2000 ecstasy pills from Holland. The plan was disrupted via a joint operation between local authorities and Sicilian police where the illegal merchandise was blocked, never making the final leg of the journey to Malta.

The Drug Squad had got a whiff of the underhand activity in December 2001. The plan had allegedly involved various players including Emanuel ‘il-Bully’ Camilleri, who was issuing instructions over his mobile phone from his Corradino Correctional Facility prison cell, and a Dutch resident who went by the name of Kleiner.

CCF regulations forbid prisoners from having a mobile phone.

The accused was allegedly the man tasked by his brother to transfer considerable amounts of cash to a third party in exchange of the drugs.

Having obtained a warrant from the Home Affairs Minister, investigators had intercepted telephone conversations conducted by the accused. In the intercepted calls, the accused and his brother had spoken of business and the transfer of funds.

Other calls were intercepted between the accused and two other inmates, namely Charles Steven Muscat, known as ‘il-Pips” and Mario Camilleri, ‘l-Imnieħru’, who had since been brutally murdered.

However the court, presided over by magistrate Francesco Depasquale, noted that transcripts of these recorded conversations showed “no link” between the subject discussed and the drug trafficking the accused was charged with having conspired in.

‘Leli l-Bully’ had testified that his brother John had undertaken to transfer money from himself to Raymond Borg, known as “il-Borza.” However, this testimony was discarded by the court as being “not at all credible.”

Statements made by the accused while under interrogation could not be used as evidence against him since he had not been assisted by his lawyer at the time. Even though the right to legal assistance in the pre-trial stage was introduced under Maltese law in 2010, recent case-law has rendered such unassisted statements, even prior to 2010, inadmissible as evidence.

On the basis of all evidence produced, the court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the accused’s involvement in the alleged criminal activity, which signified that Mr Camilleri was to be acquitted.

Lawyer Joseph Brincat was defence counsel.