Shocking details of life behind bars emerged yesterday as two former inmates testified against a drug dealing “queen” of the prison who, they said, ran the show and even had direct access to the former prisons director Sandro Gatt.

It is easier to get the drug in prison than outside because of the door-to-door service

The power possessed by Josette Bickle, 40, from Valletta, enabled her to have an extra empty cell in which she stored four televisions, a surround sound system, DVDs and four lockers full to the brim of other items such as cigarettes and clothing, all profit from her drug trafficking business in the prison, jurors heard.

Such was her influence that prison wardens were scared of her and during drug inspections they would actually knock politely on her cell door and ask to enter, the witnesses said.

Ms Bickle, who has a previous drug trafficking conviction, is pleading not guilty to dealing in heroin and being in possession of the drug inside prison between 2006 and 2008.

One of the former prisoners, Pauline Pisani, said that Ms Bickle treated her like a slave and even made her shave her private parts besides making her wash her cell.

If she missed a spot, she would threaten to burn her and in fact did on one occasion with a light bulb, Ms Pisani said.

‘She ran the show’

Ms Pisani’s downfall was the heroin that Ms Bickle could obtain for her but this came at a high price, more than three times the street value for far less than the amount she should have received, she added.

“It is easier to get the drug in prison than outside because of the door-to-door service”, Ms Pisani said.

Ms Bickle ran the show in the jail and would accept payment of practically anything for the drug which she always had available.

One thing that bothered Ms Pisani was that Ms Bickle could pick up the phone, speak to the former prisons director Mr Gatt and get whatever she wanted especially when it came to extended one-on-one visits, the witness said. She had known Ms Bickle since 2004 and when she entered prison in 2007 they were very close.

Ms Pisani owed her some €200 going back to the time they were free but in prison that amount quickly soared to some €700. On one occasion, Mr Gatt warned her in the presence of prison warden Alison Sgendo that she had better repay the money, Ms Pisani said.

Ms Bickle was also in charge of handing out the workload given to prisoners by Playmobil and most of the prisoners who owed her money for drugs would work just to pay her. The witnesses yesterday said they had never seen a cent while Ms Bickle was in prison because she would take all the money they earned.

Taking the witness stand, Police Inspectors Jesmond Borg and Victor Aquilina said they started working on the case following an internal inquiry into shortcomings in the prisons. They were given the job of looking into how drugs were involved and their investigation focused solely on that.

During the investigation, the women they spoke to were very afraid of speaking up about what exactly went on behind the prison walls because of the power Ms Bickle wielded, the inspectors said.

Some even broke down in tears before spilling the beans on their nightmare.

The inspectors said former prisoners Doreen Bugeja, Elaine Muscat, Ms Pisani and Maria Conċetta Borg all gave a similar account of how they would pay Ms Bickle for drugs and suffered at her hands by having to do menial work. They would wash her cell, her laundry and her hair, and even wash her while in the shower. They would pay her in items of clothing and anything else.

While going through the accounts to see how much each prisoner was earning, Ms Bickle’s account stood out because she had amounts averaging €400 to €600 a month. From that she would make payments through cheques to a certain Jeffrey and the amounts, if added up over a period of time, would run into the thousands, the inspectors said.

Over a period of time, the amounts would run into the thousands

Taking the witness stand, another of the four women, Ms Borg, said she spent a year in prison with Ms Bickle, who was the “queen” inside there. She added that she really wished things would improve because people were there to get better not worse.

She said she bought drugs from Ms Bickle on many occasions and would also pay her with what she could, including clothing and cigarettes, but her debt became huge because of the hefty price of the drugs. She had once paid €300 for a single gram of heroin.

Ms Borg said other inmates were granted extended visits four times a week but she was given nothing. Her 80-year-old mother would visit her and was made to strip naked to make sure she was not hiding drugs.

She recalled the former prisons director, Mr Gatt, calling her a “dirty Gozitan”.

In 2008, Mr Gatt had resigned and asked to resume his duties within the police force, a request accepted by the Justice Ministry.

The trial continues. Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Roberto Montalto appeared for Ms Bickle.