A man who was arrested in 2012 after a police raid at his home in Birkirkara had yielded a one-sided A4 sized photocopy of a €50 banknote, a pet poodle which had not been microchipped and some inert ammunition, this morning took the witness stand to testify in his own defence.

Wayne Falzon, currently facing charges of forgery and failing to microchip his dog, recalled how inspector Jason Sultana had knocked at his door at around noon on the day of the arrest, accompanied by some "10 or 11" officers.

A thorough search of the house followed but no illegality was discovered, the court presided by magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona was told.

The witness stated that a sum of €2,700 in cash , which was meant to be paid as deposit on a car purchase agreement, was seized by the search party. Part of the sum, namely €1,000, was eventually returned to the accused but the rest was never recovered in spite of his efforts to retrieve his money from the police.

The man pointed out that his laptop, computer tablets and printer had also been taken during the search. The court confirmed that a receipt for these electronic devices issued by the police was indeed found in the records of the case.

Asked about the fake banknotes the accused stated that there was merely an A4 photocopy of a €50 banknote wrapped around a tin containing some loose change. The accused further declared that no weapons had been found during the search, contrary to what had been reported in the media.

The man also denied carrying a knife at the time insisting that “the only knives taken were taken from the kitchen".

Defence lawyer David Gatt remarked that his client had been arrested and "charged with keeping a poodle without a licence or microchip".

The case continues.

Inspector Rennie Stivala prosecuted.