A 39-year-old man who was arrested in connection with a 700g heroin bust has had his detention by the police declared null after a court determined that police had not met the sufficient requirements to arrest him. 

Stefano Montebello was one of three men arraigned on Sunday over a drug bust the police made after stopping a car in Buġibba that turned out to be full of sachets that looked like they had been packaged ready to be sold. 

The car was being driven by 50-year-old Pierre Cremona.

Montebello was in the car with him at the time. 

The vehicle was searched and yielded what was suspected to be cocaine and heroin. 

With Cremona and Montebello in tow, police went on to search a residence in Mosta, where they also found the older man’s 24-year-old son, Owen Cremona. 

At the Mosta home police discovered a bag thought to contain some 700g of heroin, a Les Baer pistol, bullets and other drug-related paraphernalia. 

All three men were charged with heroin possession not intended for their personal use, unlicensed possession of a firearm and recidivism. 

Pierre Cremona and Montebello were also charged with cocaine possession, while Pierre was separately charged with breaching previous bail conditions. 

All three pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit objected to Montebello’s arrest, because, they argued, his arrest at the time did not adequately satisfy all the requirements as stipulated by the law. 

While police had obtained a warrant for the arrest of the father and son, one had not been obtained for Montebello, they said.

Additionally, Montebello claimed that police had not informed him of the reason why he was being arrested, something that is also evident from the police body cam footage that was exhibited in the disclosure. 

The criminal code, they added, stipulates that a person must be explicitly informed that they are being arrested and why they have been placed under arrest in order for the detainment to be considered valid. 

After hearing arguments from both sides, Magistrate Rachel Montebello ruled in favour of the defence and declared that by virtue of not disclosing the reasons for the arrest, then Montebello’s arrest must be declared illegitimate. She ordered his immediate release. 

Requesting bail for Owen Cremona, the defence said that while the heroin had been found at the Mosta residence, the police had yet to sufficiently prove whom it belonged to. 

Save for a couple of traffic fines, the young man had an otherwise clean criminal record, they said, adding he was willing to live at a separate address with his mother. 

The prosecution objected to bail due to the nature of the crime and because Owen Cremona was also charged with recidivism. 

The court granted Owen bail against a deposit of € 2,000 and a personal guarantee of € 10,000. He was also ordered to observe a curfew and not approach civilian witnesses. 

A bail request for Pierre Cremona was summarily rejected by the court, which cited his criminal record as the primary reason why. 

Inspector Jonathan Pace prosecuted.