A trio of suspected drug-traffickers caught in possession of some one-and-a-half kilos of cocaine and €63,000 in cash last week in Kirkop, have had their bail confirmed on appeal.
Tristen Kyle Pisani, 25, of Tarxien, a technician; Annajar Osama Soleman, 40, of Għargħur, working at the Libyan Embassy; and Boulqassim Khalleefah Aboulqassim Almigheerbi, 32, of Swieqi, unemployed; had pleaded not guilty to their alleged involvement in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and to the possession of cocaine under circumstances which indicated that the drug was not for their personal use.
All three were further charged with money laundering activities, while Mr Pisani was separately charged with the possession of cannabis plant and resin, as well as with being a relapser.
The trio had been arrested after a tip-off about an alleged underhand drug deal that was to take place in Kirkop.
Officers had come across the three men inside a vehicle, later found to be registered in the name of the wife of one of the suspects. A search of the vehicle had yielded a bag containing some one-and-a-half kilos of cocaine and €63,000 in cash stacked under the passenger seat.
The magistrate presiding over the arraignment had upheld the request for bail, ordering Mr Pisani and Mr Soleman to each pay a deposit of €10,000 and a personal guarantee of €20,000, to sign the bail book on a daily basis and to observe a curfew between midnight and 6am.
Mr Almigheerbi was ordered to pay a deposit of €5,000, a personal guarantee of €25,000, to sign the bail book on a daily basis and to observe a curfew between 11pm and 7am.
The Attorney General had filed an appeal for the revocation of bail, arguing that not only were there witnesses still to testify but the “charges were so serious that bail should not be granted”. Moreover, in respect of the Libyans, the fear of absconding existed, while Mr Pisani was also a relapser.
However, the court of appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, rejected the AG’s arguments pointing out that the first court had exercised its discretion correctly by imposing stringent bail conditions which all three had so far adhered to.
Moreover, the main witnesses were police officers and court experts, the court declared, also throwing out the AG’s argument that Mr Pisani had an unruly character. Indeed, after his conviction in 2014 over simple cannabis possession and a traffic offence, Mr Pisani had not incurred any other brushes with the law.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel to Mr Pisani. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were counsel to Mr Almigheerbi and Mr Soleman.