A Rabat man who was arrested on Saturday night after the police allegedly discovered some three and a half kilos of drugs tucked away in a hidden compartment in his car, has been remanded in custody.

Andre’ Agius, 41, was stopped by members from the Drug Squad assisted by sniffer dogs, just as he drove off the catamaran from Sicily.

Inspectors Frank Anthony Tabone and Jonathan Cassar explained in court on Monday how the suspect’s car had been transferred to police headquarters where a more thorough search had yielded two kilos of suspected cocaine, a kilo of suspected cannabis grass and half a kilo of suspected cannabis resin.

The drugs were discovered inside a secret compartment attached to the car chassis, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras was told.

The man was arrested and charged with drug trafficking conspiracy, importation and possession of the drugs. He was further charged with being a relapser. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The court also heard that since the car was registered in the name of the suspect’s father, the latter had also been arrested and let out on police bail.

A request for bail forwarded by defence lawyer Roberto Montalto was objected to by the prosecution who argued that under interrogation, the father’s statement had not tallied with that released by his son. Moreover, there was a possible risk of tampering with evidence. The prosecution also requested an assets freeze.

Dr Montalto countered that his client had denied any knowledge of the hidden
compartment. Moreover, he was a father of three who ran his own business.
Furthermore, the only civilian witness in this case was the father who could choose not to testify against his own son.

However, in view of the nature of the offences charged and the circumstances of the case, the court deemed that the man could not afford adequate security to abide by bail conditions and therefore remanded him in custody.