A man was remanded in custody on Sunday after two kilograms of heroin were found hidden in his washing machine.
Nicholas Farrugia, 31, who lives in Qormi was arrested in a police anti-drug operation on Saturday. The operation yielded around two kilograms of suspected heroin and 500g of cocaine.
The suspect was surrounded by police officers in Marsa at 6.30am on Saturday and searched. Inside his vehicle police discovered a “considerable” number of drug sachets, packed and ready to be sold, as well as three mobile phones.
Officers then proceeded to a house the man owns in Luqa, where they found the heroin and cocaine hidden in a washing machine. Police estimate the drugs to have street value of €130,000.
In court on Sunday, Farrugia was charged by Inspector Jonathan Pace with being in possession of cocaine and heroin with the intent to traffic. He was also charged with breaching bail conditions and being a relapser.
Pace told the court that the accused had cooperated with the police.
Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Jacob Magri requested bail, arguing that their client had to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Moreover, as he was being charged with aggravated possession, there were no civilian witnesses. The fact that he had cooperated with the police should also be taken into consideration. Their client was also willing to abide by any conditions imposed by the court.
The prosecution objected to the request because of the gravity of the case and the amount of drugs involved. Pace also pointed out that investigations were still at an early stage and the accused had breached bail conditions given in another case.
The defence noted that to be found in breach of bail conditions, their client had to be first found guilty of this crime, so bail should not be denied.
Magistrate Chairmaine Galea denied bail and upheld a request for a freezing order on the accused’s assets. This request was also objected to by the defence.
