Malta’s ‘El Chapo’ Remanded In Custody, Allegedly Seen Throwing Drugs Out Of Car Mid-Chase
Jordan Azzopardi, the infamous drug kingpin known as ‘El Chapo Ta’ Malta’ has been kept under police custody, and was seen tossing a suspicious package out of his car mid-chase, a court was told.
Police inspector Alfredo Mangion revealed that police had information that Azzopardi was trafficking drugs, which was what led police to surround him on Friday afternoon.
A car chase ensued as Azzopardi came to learn police were following him. Such that it led to some erratic driving that caused damage to his own car and others in the street.
During the chase, he tossed a package out of his car window – one that was later revealed to contain around 130 grams of an illegal substance.
He currently faces no less than 13 charges including drug possession, damaging two cars during the chase, disobeying police orders, dangerous driving (and without a valid licence), recklessly, breaching bail conditions, and relapsing.
Following his hearing in court, Azzopardi is now kept under preventive arrest after pleading not guilty to the charges brought against him.
Azzopardi was arrested in 2019 but was granted bail in August 2021. He is widely known for his alleged drug operation and had become proficient at evading the police’s grasp.
He allegedly had multiple properties around the island that featured fake walls, hard-to-penetrate steel doors, CCTV, stone barricades, and entire vats of acid to throw the heroin and cocaine in if he was ever caught.
Raids in Balzan, Birkirkara, Marsa, Pieta, Blata l-Bajda and Gżira were all held in an attempt to find Azzopardi. However, he evaded police on at least four different occasions.
One person who was arrested during raids described how Azzopardi had pulled a knife on him and hit him with it, while another said he was violent towards his employees as well as drug users.
What do you think of the latest arrest?