Accused in drug trial insists he is innocent

The accused in a drug trial insisted this afternoon he was innocent and all the police officers who claimed to have seen him hiding a sack of drugs were lying.

Chris Grech, 28, of Qormi, stands charged with conspiring to sell drugs and being in possession of cannabis resin in quantities which indicated it was not for personal use.

The case hinges on a fingerprint on a bar of cannabis allegedly discovered during a police raid in 2006 when 3.5 kilos of drugs were found in a sack.

The police had said they had been monitoring Mr Grech’s and another man’s movement.

On May 18, 2006 the accused was allegedly seen driving a red Peugeot and together with the other suspect had parked at Bahar ic-Caghaq, next to the Splash and Fun Park, and hidden a sack containing the cannabis.

The two men allegedly returned to the site a few days later to retrieve the drugs. The police said they tried to stop them but they managed to escape. Mr Grech was arrested later.

Taking the witness stand this afternoon the accused said he was employed with his father at his father’s rabbit farm and on weekends he would drive a white taxi.

The accused said that on the fateful day he called his ex-wife who told him she had forgotten her keys in Bugibba so he took them to her.

He said that on his way back to Qormi, he stopped by an ice-cream van at Bahar ic-Cahaq.

The public toilet, which he wanted to use, was closed. A car stopped and someone asked him for a lighter. He stopped again near the Splash and Fun Park because he really needed to use the toilet.

He said that he went into a field but as soon as he drove in a man ran out, he heard shots being fired, got scared, wet himself and drove out of the field.

The accused said he was going to lodge a report at the police station since he suspected that the shots could have been related to his extra-marital relationship.

He said that at home he did not tell his father anything but spent the day looking out of the balcony. He told his partner what had happened and she told him that had they been her relatives, she would have known.

He said he was confused and returned to the farm very scared. His mother called told him that the CID had called him in and he went to the police headquarters where he told the inspectors what had happened and said he did not know that the people who had fired the shots were police officers.

Mr Grech said that while his statement was being taken, the inspector kept his baton next to him and before he began to type he tapped it on the desk. Another officer stood behind him, holding a baseball bat and telling him that if he did not tell the whole truth he was going to crack his head open.

He said that his fingerprints were taken a second time, he was released on police bail and when they called him back he was told his fingerprints were on the drugs. He said he never saw or touched the bag he had allegedly hid.

During cross examination, prosecutor Aaron Bugeja asked him if this meant all the police officers were lying and Mr Grech said they were.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, who is presiding over the trial asked the accused if he had opened any court cases against the commissioner of police about the threats he had receive and Mr Grech said he did not.