A young man arrested in an anti-drugs operation preceding the arrest of drug lord Jordan Azzopardi has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to drug-related charges in court on Tuesday.

Ramirez Vella, a 20-year-old Tarxien man, was arraigned under arrest and charged with procuring cocaine and heroin and committing the offences within 100 metres of a school.

Mr Vella was one of the people arrested late on March 7, when a coordinated police operation saw a house on Mountbatten Street raided.

There, officers found drugs and cash. The police had later revealed how people inside the house had tried to destroy evidence by throwing sachets of drugs in acid.

Mr Vella, one of those occupants, pleaded not guilty and chose not to answer when asked what he did for a living.

No request for bail was made at this stage and the court, presided over by magistrate Monica Vella, remanded the young man in custody.

Today’s arraignment came in the wake of police investigations which followed the raid and which, backed by forensic testing, led the police to gather sufficient evidence to press charges against the young man.

Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca prosecuted. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Alfred Abela were defence counsel.

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