146 kilogrammes of cocaine which were seized by police at the Freeport last week had been hidden in a container transporting sacks of unperforated buttons.

Details were given in court on Monday by Police Inspector Mark Mercieca in the compilation of evidence against Roderick Camilleri, 44 of Birżebbuġa, and Darren Dimech, 46 of Fgura who are pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and importation.

The cocaine consignment was estimated by the police to have a street value of some €20 million.

In his testimony, Inspector Mercieca said that over the past months the police drug squad had been working on intelligence regarding the use of the freeport for the importation of illegal substances and other contraband destined for Malta, and that employees at the freeport were involved.

The police initially did not have a clear indication as to which container, or who exactly, was involved.

On November 12 they were given information about the illegal activity. Searches and inspections were promptly made on all vehicles leaving the freeport.

At about 1pm, the inspector said he was informed that a green truck had been stopped near the freeport gate because of suspicion that it might be carrying  irregular items – it contained sacks of suspicious blocks. Two men in the truck were arrested. These were Camilleri who was in the passenger’s seat and Dimech who was the driver.

One of the packages where the cocaine was contained. Police photo.

An inspection of the truck revealed three large sacks containing blocks suspected to be cocaine. The sacks were yellow with green and red stripes. Two sacks were behind the driver’s seat and one behind the passenger’s.

The men were asked which container the sacks came from, but they did not reply so police started a search. Eventually, in one of the container slots  police noticed a container ajar with a broken seal. It caught their attention because, by the side of the container there was a white sack with what looked like buttons inside.   

Inside the container were other white sacks with unperforated buttons and there was another yellow sack with blocks like the ones found in the truck. 

Suspect was offered between €5,000 and €10,000 to drive truck out of Malta Freeport

The inspector explained that the sacks containing the unperforated buttons were white and in the front part of the container. The sacks containing the blocks were yellow with green and red stripes and were four times the size of the other sacks. He elaborated that inside the truck there were 105 blocks in three sacks - allegedly amounting to 105kg of cocaine.

Inside the container there were 41 other blocks - a total of 146 blocks.

The two men were taken to Mater Dei Hospital as they said they had chest pains. They were released the following day and investigations continued.

Camilleri chose not to incriminate himself while Dimech released a statement. He said he knew Camilleri as they both worked for the same truck company. That day Camilleri asked him to go with him to get some merchandise and offered him between €5,000 and €10,000 to accompany him. He said he did not know what was to be transported but suspected it might be illegal. He was never paid.

He said Camilleri asked him to film him opening the container.  Camilleri also told him that the security would let them out of the Freeport. But they were stopped.

Broken container seals

Police Inspector John Lee Howard also took the witness stand. He explained that each block was about A5 size and thick and wrapped in red tape. He also said that inside the container there were several broken seals.

He explained that on on leaving for their destination containers were sealed – with a unique seal – which is opened on arrival. The fact that there were several seals bearing the same serial number inside the container suggested the seals were cut and the container resealed repeatedly.

Scientist Gilbert Mercieca said he was appointed to analyze the blocks during the magisterial inquiry. Inside there was a white substance that was confirmed to be cocaine. There were 146 kg in total.

Representing Camilleri were lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Alessandro Farrugia while lawyers Franco Debono and George Anton Buttigieg represented Dimech.