Ministers defend government record on drugs

Many of the Labour Party's proposals on fighting drug trafficking have already been implemented, Justice Minister Austin Gatt and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.

Speaking in reply to a press conference given earlier by the MLP, Dr Gatt said the drugs court being proposed by Labour had been functioning for several years and drug cases were being heard by a particular magistrate.

"There is no backlog of drug-related cases. After Magistrate Noel Cuschieri was promoted to judge, drug cases were assigned by the Chief Justice to the new magistrate Lawrence Quintano," Dr Gatt said.

Dr Gatt said the system has been giving good results and there were 316 pending drug-related cases before Magistrate Quintano, which was basically the same as in recent years "but 25 per cent less than it was when Labour was in government between 1996 and 1998," Dr Gatt said.

Dr Borg said the security service had been instrumental in solving very serious crimes, including the case of alleged bribery of two judges as well as the importation of four kilos of heroin.

"A mobile phone that was being used from prison was allowed there so that it could be monitored and this led to the judges' case and the interception of the four-kilo drug deal," Dr Borg said.

He said Dr Sant had long been against the security service and had tried to dismantle it when he was in government. There was a very tight legal framework controlling how the security service operated and no abuses had ever been reported.

Dr Sant, as leader of the opposition, had a right to attend meetings of the security service committee and to ask about its operations but he never attended, Dr Borg said.

With regard to embarkation cards, Dr Borg said it made no sense for locals to have to fill in forms when leaving or re-entering their home country.

"The necessary surveillance still takes place on those who should be monitored. But the government does not need to know if a person is going to Lourdes or not," he said.

Dr Borg said the police and Customs had made record hauls of drugs. In 2002, 600 arrests were made in connection with drugs, 270 people were taken to court and 238 were sentenced.

Last year, a total of four kilos of cocaine were seized. The amount of heroin seized was twice that seized in 1998 while ecstasy finds in 2002 were seven times higher than in 1998, when Labour was in government.