Cocaine and cannabis were being smuggled into the country by a Malta-Italy drug ring through Virtu Ferries before finally landing in a fruit and vegetable shop in Attard and a Marsa garage. 

Court documents submitted following the arrest of 16 people in Italy, including Maltese national John Spiteri, have unveiled a wealth of conversations between the Maltese and Italian traffickers, according to The Times of Malta. 

The operation, codenamed ‘Operation La Vallette’, put an end to a smuggling operation from Albania to Italy and into Malta. The ring was even recently plotting to kill a suspected informant.

Police believe that Spiteri was running the Maltese side of the operation. Spiteri, along with Italian national Rosario Amico, handled shipments between Puglia and Malta from 2018 to 2019. 

One man, Fabian Catania, who has been arrested for cannabis trafficking in Malta, is believed to have acted as the courier. The Attorney General had informed Italian police over his arrest in 2018.

Amico was the initial focus of the investigation due to his luxury lifestyle and little declared income, however, it quickly revealed his links across Sicily, Italy, and Malta. 

He would travel through Virtu to Malta multiple times a year, along with associate Albanian national Eriseld Hoxhaj, known as Riku. Amico’s son, Ray, is believed to have collected payments in Malta.

Recorded conversations uncovered how the Maltese andd Italian trafficks eventually suspected each other of working with police following a dispute over a cannabis shipment. 

“Surely Gianni [Spiteri] paid them to kill me… he wanted to kill me!” one unnamed suspect said.

Even the Albanians were growing concerned with Spiteri.

“They are convinced that you are dangerous, reckless and that when you try to make more and more money you aren’t cautious enough,” Amico said.

“You cannot neglect this otherwise you’re done. People end up in jail; are we going to end up there too? Police have their eyes open. We aren’t importing sweets or cakes here. You understand?”

Spiteri had racked up an €80,000 debt at the time, but insisted with Amico that it was essential to “get rid…of the guy who opened his mouth”.

The sittings will continue soon. 

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