It took a man four days from his release from three years in jail to get back behind bars when he staged his own kidnap, trying to extort money from his mother in Iran and the prison’s spiritual director.
Iranian national Mohammad Tahmasebi Ghareb Shiran, 26, called the CCF spiritual director, Fr Hayden - who had helped him find a place where to stay after his release from prison on Wednesday last week - to tell him he had been kidnapped by two men and a woman.
He told the priest he was walking when he was forced into a vehicle and taken to a place where he was tied to a chair. He made the same call to his mother in Iran, telling her that his kidnappers were demanding €2,500 to release him.
Police inspector Lydon Zammit told Magistrate Leonard Caruana how Shiran and two Maltese nationals, Sarah Zammit, 30, and Jonathan Abela, 39, were involved in this fake kidnapping. The three pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
Zammit told the court how the police were informed by Fr Hayden on Sunday that he had received a call from the former prisoner whose life was in danger.
The police launched a nationwide search and contacts were made with service providers to get localisation of Shiran’s mobile phone. He said around 50 police officers were involved in an operation that lasted 24 hours.
At one point, the priest received another call that the kidnappers had injected Shiran with drugs and that that he had lost consciousness.
Shiran’s mother said she had received a ransom request and was told to send the money via Western Union to Sarah Zammit. This piece of information led the police to her and Abela and that was when the police ascertained that it was all a concocted story.
Zammit said the mobile localisations showed that Shiran was at Abela’s Gżira flat when the calls were made. It resulted that they were abusing drugs together at the flat when the idea came to them. He said a fourth person who was also with them at the time will be charged in the coming days after he is released from hospital where he was admitted for treatment.
Zammit told the court the three have serious drug issues. He said Abela’s Gżira flat was where people would congregate to abuse drugs. Sarah Zammit recently had a suspended sentence converted into an effective jail term.
Magistrate Caruana turned down a request for bail and they were remanded in custody. But just as they were being led out of the courtroom, Shiran asked to speak as he wanted to plead guilty, taking everyone by surprise.
“I want to plead guilty. I want to change my life. I put these (referring to his co-accused) in this situation, I lied to my mum who is an elderly lady and also to Fr Hayden who helped me a lot. I betrayed their trust and it's time to get my punishment. I need to shoulder my responsibilities,” he said.
After Magistrate Caruana gave him time to reconsider his change of heart, he jailed him for nine months and ordered that he receives treatment for his drug addiction.
Lawyer Leontine Calleja was defence counsel for Abela and Zammit.
Police inspectors Stephen Gulia and Doriette Cuschieri also prosecuted.