An alleged drug kingpin who has been in preventive custody for 10 months insisted once more in court on Thursday that he had a right to be granted bail.
Jordan Azzopardi is facing prosecution over a multitude of charges ranging from drug trafficking and aggravated possession of cocaine, heroin and cannabis to criminal conspiracy and circulation of fake cash.
He is also accused of defrauding three shops in San Ġwann and Sliema, having an unlicensed weapon, threatening and injuring a man as well as breaching bail.
In October, fresh charges related to breaching money laundering laws as well as promoting an organisation with a view to committing criminal offences, were added to the list.
Mr Azzopardi was escorted to court on Thursday, under the usual tight security, to face ongoing proceedings alongside his 31-year-old girlfriend and mother-of-five, whose name has been banned from publication to safeguard her children.
Defence lawyer Franco Debono when making submissions on the fresh bail application, pointed out that a court recently granted bail in a more serious case - the alleged racially motivated murder of a migrant by two soldiers - even though that case had raised a public outcry. The bail for those two accused had even been confirmed after the attorney general appealed.
In Mr Azzopardi’s case, the prosecution’s objections to bail appeared to have been toned down as the proceedings progressed, Dr Debono said.
The law provided the necessary mechanism to attain a balance and safeguard the rights of the accused by allowing the court to impose adequate conditions of bail, he added.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke declared that she would decree upon the matter in chambers.
Meanwhile, during Thursday's hearing, forensic medical expert Mario Scerri testified about how he had examined a man, arrested in the Pieta’ drug raid, who claimed to have been beaten by Mr Azzopardi five days earlier.
The doctor reported how the alleged victim had a greenish bruise around his eye and other injuries, including a fractured nose. Those injuries were compatible with “a blunt trauma” suffered through beating, Dr Scerri said.
Chemicals expert Emanuel Sinagra testified that he had tested a number of exhibits seized in the Pieta’ raid, including foil, plastic bottles, straws and a black plastic container holding dilute hydrochloric acid. The tests had revealed traces of cocaine on the foil and plastic. However, tests on the acid had resulted in “a jigsaw puzzle of the molecule” that could not ascertain the presence of cocaine.
Another court expert, Keith Cutajar, tasked with analyzing digital evidence from five mobile phones, six laptops and other loose items, seized on the day of the March arrests, testified that two iPhones were pin-protected so that data could not be retrieved. Another Nokia phone had a damaged board.
The case continues. Inspectors Mark Anthony Mercieca, Justine Grech and Nicholas Vella prosecuted, assisted by lawyer Ann Marie Cutajar from the AG’s Office.
Lawyer Amadeus Cachia and Marion Camilleri were also defence counsel.