Drug trafficking trial kicks off, 16 years after initial arrests

The trial by jury of three men allegedly involved in a drug trafficking conspiracy 16 years ago began on Monday morning.

Rio Micallef from Marsa, David Tabone from Naxxar, and Darren James Vella from Birkirkara stand accused of multiple counts of drug trafficking. They are pleading not guilty.

The trio, who were friends at the time of the allegations, used to hang out at the same bar in Birkirkara, with one of them also running a snack bar in the area.

The prosecution alleges that the men had planned for one of the suspects to procure ecstasy pills, which his alleged partners would subsequently sell. Another of the accused was to provide the funds for the drugs.

Officers from the drug squad monitored the suspects’ movements before arresting them on 15 September 2008.

Tabone had left his home and driven towards McDonald’s in Birkirkara where he was joined by Vella. The pair then met Micallef, who ran a snack bar near Fleur-de-Lys.

Micallef left his shop, got into his car and drove in the direction of Old Church Street, followed closely by the other two men.

They parked their cars at a distance from each other and two of the suspects approached a garage, with Tabone allegedly carrying a black bag.

When Micallef sensed the presence of the police, he crouched and allegedly threw a white bag under a parked van before fleeing.

He was arrested together with Vella and Tabone.

Inside the bag, the police found 1,940 ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of €18,624.

The police also seized €9,330 in cash inside the black bag and a set of electronic weighing scales bearing drug traces.

In April 2019, the Criminal Court of Appeal declared the statements released by the accused to the police as inadmissible since they were not assisted by a lawyer at the time.

Trial by jury dissolved in September

The trial of the three men had already been scheduled for 16 September 2024, but was dissolved after a man who was selected to serve as a reserve juror remained in the courtroom’s public gallery while the prosecution and defence were thrashing out legal arguments prior to the actual start of the testimony.

The presiding judge had directed any member of the public who could subsequently be selected to serve as juror to leave the courtroom. However, the man stayed in his seat while the parties were discussing amendments to the bill of indictment.

When later questioned by the judge's deputy registrar, he claimed that he had been playing a video game on his mobile and was oblivious to the legal arguments being discussed.

The defence teams had strongly objected to the continuation of the trial, arguing that since the panel was a single entity, the whole panel was “tainted”.

The Criminal Court upheld the defence’s arguments and discharged the jurors. The trial was dissolved and postponed to a later date.

Madam Justice Edwina Grima is presiding over the Criminal Court.

Lawyers Kevin Valletta, Godwin Cini and Danica Vella are prosecuting on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri appeared on behalf of David Tabone.

Lawyers José Herrera and Alex Scerri Herrera are assisting Rio Micallef.

Lawyers Michael Sciriha and Matthew Xuereb assisted Darren James Vella.

Jury impanelled

The jury was impanelled at around noon after the parties trashed out legal arguments behind closed doors.

It is understood that those arguments relate to a constitutional case which was filed late last week, as two accused – Tabone and Vella – seek to stand trial without a jury.

The pair filed a constitutional case arguing that their right to a fair trial is being breached after the Criminal Court said the trial would go ahead despite a recent legal amendment allowing them to choose whether to have their trial by jury or without. Both Tabone and Vella opted to go on trial without a jury, while Micallef said he wanted to face a trial by jury.

Tabone and Vella also requested an interim measure seeking to put off the trial by jury.

However, Mr Justice Mark Simiana, who is presiding over the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, dismissed the interim measure request. The case resumed on Monday, after the jury was adjourned to 3pm.

The parties are expected to make their final submissions on Tuesday and the judge is expected to decide on the alleged fair trial breach by the end of this week. This may possibly lead to the dissolution of the jury in case the court rules that it breaches their rights.

Lawyer Julian Farrugia represented the State Advocate’s office.