132 Kilos, Not 226? Police Clarifies Drug Heist Amount As Court Hears How Thieves Went Inside Container Three Times
It turns out that the total amount of cannabis resin which was stolen from an AFM barracks is 132 kilos, not 226.
The Malta Police Force’s forensic department confirmed this detail moments ago during the compilation of evidence against the six individuals charged in connection with the heist, which started this morning before Magistrate Elaine Rizzo.
With a number of witnesses including inspectors taking to the stand and the accused Sean Attard, Christa Gauci, Carlos Pace, Cleaven Pace, and Youssef Essesi all present in the room, the court heard how the drugs first arrived in Malta in suspicious containers on 17th June 2024. The containers had arrived from Morocco, bound to Libya, and carried six induction ovens in them with blocks of cannabis resin inside.
The drugs were meant to be destroyed by an incinerator, but needed to be stored once again in a container at the customs complex due to damaged machinery. It was then that the container was taken to Safi’s AFM barracks by truck which was escorted by a police car.
Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca said that on 23rd February at 3:40am, he received a call from the AFM soldiers on duty that night that the container was open and that items were taken from it.
CCTV footage between midnight and 2:30am revealed people running inside the barracks, with the thieves reportedly coming out of a hole in the metal fence surrounding the barracks’ perimeter. According to Mercieca’s reporting of the CCTV footage, the thieves went inside the container three times and were seen coming out with shopping bags in their hands.
And while initial investigations verified that a total of 226 kilos were missing from the container, forensic police continued their investigation and later established that the total amount was actually 132 kilos.
Meanwhile, at the time of writing, defence lawyer Franc Debono is currently cross-examining the witnesses.
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