A 25-year-old man from Attard has been granted bail after being charged in court with cocaine possession. 

The police said in a statement, that the man had been arrested during the night between 2nd and 3rd May after, he was stopped in a roadblock in Triq il-Wied in Msida. 

A search of his car led to the discovery of 87 sachets of cocaine under the driver’s seat.

Josett Demicoli is leading a magisterial inquiry into the case.

Meanwhile, the man was this afternoon charged in court. He pled not guilty before Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, who is presiding over the case. 

The prosecution objected to a request for bail, however, defence lawyer Franco Debono argued that though the sachets had been found beneath the driver’s seat, they were positioned in such a way that it could not be excluded that they had been placed there by a passenger. 

He noted that the car was a taxi that carried a variety of passengers over the course of the day, while stressing that the driver had nothing to do with them. The man needed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, the lawyer argued. 

Bail was also opposed on the basis of the man having breached previous bail conditions, however the defence argued that legislation was pending before the House of Representatives that would significantly alter the court’s judgment once it has been approved. 

The magistrate agreed to the man’s release on bail, provided he abided by a number of conditions laid down by the court. 

The prosecution is being led by inspectors Colin Sheldon and Justine Grech. 

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