Had passports belonging to others, but drug charges not proved

An Egyptian was yesterday imprisoned for one month after being found guilty of being in possession of passports that did not belong to him, but was acquitted of the more serious charges of drug importation and conspiracy.

Ali Abid El Moaty Mohammed El Madbouly, 42, was charged with the possession of about 1.5 kilogrammes of cannabis resin in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use and the possession of three passports on and before August 22.

The drug was found wrapped in 10 packets that were hidden behind the back of a large painting.

The Egyptian denied the drug was his or that he even knew anything about it but said that the passports that were in his possession had been given to him by Sami el Mazsry, an Egyptian living in Morocco.

El Madbouly had to obtain visas for three Moroccans so that they could go to Italy. He was going to get $500 from each visa he managed to obtain. El Madbouly was also promised a visa for Italy for himself.

The court noted that the accused said that the night before he arrived in Malta, el Mazsry, who had given him the passports, went to his house, gave him the painting and asked him to give it to Sidney Zammit, who ran the Taormina Guesthouse, who was to obtain the visas.

The court noted that the accused had only $400 and was meant to stay in Malta for a fortnight, and said it could be that he had something going on with Zammit, but there was no evidence that he knew he was carrying drugs.

The court, however found him guilty of being in possession of passports that did not belong to him and jailed him for a month and declared him a prohibited immigrant.

Inspector Norbert Ciappara prosecuted.

Dr Richard Sladden appeared for the Egyptian.