Officer testifies on calls 'revealing plan details'

Telephone conversations in which four prison inmates discussed with relatives the financing of the importation of four kilogrammes of cocaine and a kilogramme of cannabis from Holland to Malta via Sicily had been tapped, a court heard yesterday.

During investigations police learnt that Emanuel Camilleri had contacted his brother John and his girlfriend Trudy Testa; Joseph Sacco contacted his nephew Saviour; Charles Muscat contacted his wife Yvette and Mario Camilleri contacted his son Pierre and wife Mona.

Police Inspector Neil Harrison gave a detailed account of the investigations when he testified before Magistrate Carol Peralta in the compilation of evidence against 19 charged with conspiring to deal in drugs here and in Italy last May.

The accused are:-

Leli Camilleri, 37, better known as il-Bully, his girlfriend Trudy Testa, 27, of Mqabba, his former girlfriend champion bowler Sue Abela, 36, of Sliema, and his brother John, 34, of Mqabba,

Mario Camilleri, 40, l-Imniehru, his wife Mona, 30, of Valletta and his son Pierre, 20, Charles Muscat, 35, il-Pips, his wife Yvette, 38, of l-Iklin and Alfred Bugeja, 44, il-Porporina, and his brother Albert, 30, of Gzira.

Anthony Gatt, 49, and his girlfriend Carmen Armeni, 41, of Mqabba and Armeni's sister Sylvana Bugeja, 29, of Gharghur, Romeo Bone, 26, of Floriana, Isaac Chetcuti, 25, of Sliema, Noel Borg, 29, of Bahar ic-Caghaq, Daniel-Victor Bonnici, 26, of Burmarrad and Juma Said Karfoosh, 35, of Hamrun.

All but Abela are charged with:

¤ conspiring to traffic in cocaine and cannabis on May 30 and in the previous six months and

¤ conspiring in Malta to commit a crime abroad on May 30 and in the previous six months.

Abela was charged with:

¤ conspiring to traffic in cocaine and cannabis on May 30 and in the previous seven years and

¤ conspiring in Malta to commit a crime abroad on May 30 and in the previous seven years.

Chetcuti was also charged with the possession of cannabis plant and resin on August 1 and in the previous six months.

Sylvana Bugeja was also charged with the possession of cannabis plant and resin on August 3 and in the previous six months.

Charles Muscat was also charged with the possession of heroin on and before August 8.

Emanuel Camilleri, Mario Camilleri, Alfred Bugeja, Bone and Chetcuti were also charged with relapsing and Bone was also charged with breaching the conditions of a previous release.

Emanuel Camilleri was the only one who opted to file a guilty plea to all the charges brought against him.

Inspector Harrison testified how on December 1, 2001, the police had reason to suspect that certain prison inmates were planning to import drugs to Malta from Holland.

The first sign of the plan was shown by Emanuel Camilleri who discussed the financing of the drug operation with his brother John.

A few weeks later Charles Muscat, Mario Camilleri and Joseph Sacco, all of whom were inmates, became involved in the operation.

Investigations showed that several phone calls were being made to a drug supplier in Holland and the person to initiate the conversations was Emanuel Camilleri, the officer said.

Attempts to find people willing to transport the drugs from Holland to Malta were brought to the police's attention thanks to other telephone conversations with Maltese people.

Alfred Bugeja and his brother Albert were the first people to be contacted about the matter in January but eventually they were dropped from the operation.

By February it had been concluded that Raymond Borg, Fabio Psaila and Romeo Bone were to transport the drugs. Thus, according to plans, on February 28, Raymond Borg and Bone went to Amsterdam via Brussels.

On March 3, Raymond Magri joined them in Holland but the plan fell through due to the fact that they did not have enough money to pay the supplier.

The three men left the money in Holland and returned to Malta on March without the drugs. Because of this and also because no proper plan had been devised as yet the drug importation operation was postponed.

Inspector Harrison said that throughout the investigations the police learnt that Raymond Borg and Bone regularly went to visit Charles Muscat in prison in order to devise a proper plan.

Meanwhile, Issac Chetcuti was approached and asked to help transport the drugs and, through several meetings with Ray Borg and Bone, they agreed that the drugs would be transported from Sicily to Malta on a power boat.

Investigations showed that the twin-engined 27 foot long boat belonged to Daniel-Victor Bonnici and was also used by Noel Borg.

The inspector went on to explain how on April 3 Raymond Borg was seen and filmed going to Yvette Muscat's house. She was noticed giving him an envelope filled with money.

The next day Raymond Borg and Bone flew to Rome from where they rented a green Nissan Primera. They drove overland through Switzerland and Germany and arrived in Holland on April 5.

On April 6 the two men met with the supplier who gave them about four kilogrammes of cocaine and about a kilogramme of cannabis after they paid him.

Raymond Borg and Bone hid the drugs in the car and drove back towards Sicily. Whey they arrived in Sicily on April 8 the sea was too rough for them to make the crossing and so they had to spend a few days there until the weather improved.

Bone phoned his girlfriend, Sabrina Chisari, whose relatives lived in Sicily and asked her to go to Sicily so that they could stay at her relatives' house.

Inspector Harrison explained how meanwhile, in Malta, a plan to transport the drugs was being drawn up.

On April 9 the police managed to film Noel Borg and Bonnici test the power boat. That day they decided that the boat containing the drugs would leave from Ragusa and that its entry point would be somewhere in the north of Malta or somewhere in Gozo.

When the police learnt about the plans they informed the Italian police who, in turn, kept their Maltese colleagues posted.

When Chisari arrived in Sicily the Italian police saw that she was greeted by her relatives and also by Bone and Ray Borg.

When they left the airport the police followed them and stopped them when they arrived at the house.

The Italian officers searched the house and the Nissan Primera but the latter search was not a thorough one because it was dark by then and one of the Italian police officers burnt his hand when he searched the bonnet.

In an intercepted telephone conversation Bone and Raymond Borg could be heard informing Charles Muscat about the search, Inspector Harrison explained.

Because of what happened with the Italian police, Chisari's relatives did not want them to stay at their house and, thus, Bone, Chisari and Raymond Borg went to stay at a hotel situated on a highway in Palermo about four kilometres from the city centre.

Inspector Harrison testified that he learnt that after the search Raymond Borg and Bone feared they were still being followed by the police and so they decided to hide the drugs.

They hid the illicit substance behind a low concrete wall about 200 metres away from the hotel. One had to pass through a tunnel to get to the wall from the hotel, the inspector explained.

Because of this the plan to take the drugs to the Ragusa seaport fell through and another one had to be devised.

So Bone phoned Fabio Psaila and instructed him to go to Palermo as soon as possible, get a taxi, stop when he reached the tunnel described to him, recover the drugs hidden behind the wall and hide them in a safer location.

Bone also told Psaila not to meet them at the hotel until he had hidden the drugs. When Psaila arrived in Sicily on April 10, he caught a taxi to the hotel where he spent very little time, then caught a taxi to the place Bone had described to him on the phone.

The Italian police, who had been informed about Psaila's arrival, followed him and informed the Maltese police that when he left the taxi he spent about 15 minutes in the tunnel. This led the police to conclude that he had hidden the drugs in the tunnel.

Psaila then met Raymond Borg and Bone in a bar at a nearby petrol station from where they left together.

That evening, the three men, Chisari and her daughter returned to Malta. Inspector Harrison said he was at the airport when they arrived and noted how although they were on the same plane they tried to give the impression that they were not travelling together.

Inspector Harrison went on to explain how the recorded telephone conversations provided clear instructions as to where the drugs were hidden and after obtaining permission from the Italian authorities he left for Sicily on April 12.

The day after his arrival he met the Italian police and with the help of electronic equipment they found a BHS plastic bag buried under some stones and soil in the tunnel.

The plastic bag contained another two plastic bags which contained five small packets that were taken to the forensic laboratory for testing. It resulted that four of the packets contained cocaine and the fifth had cannabis in it.

Inspector Harrison said he prepared five packets that were identical in appearance and weight to the five found in the tunnel. The five dummy packets were placed in the same three bags in which the drugs had been found and buried in the same place and in the same way.

He also obtained permission from an Italian magistrate to conduct a controlled delivery.

Neither Raymond Borg, nor Bone or Psaila were aware of what was going on and they proceeded to find people who were willing to take the drugs to Malta, the officer testified.

They first approached Edwina Trabelsi but she declined the offer. On April 20 they approached Anthony Gatt through Trudy Testa. Gatt did not agree to go to Sicily himself but agreed to send his girlfriend, Carmen Armeni, and her sister, Sylvana Bugeja, instead.

The plan was that modifications would be made to a Hyundai Excel by attaching a secret compartment to it in order to hide the drugs in. The two women were to use the car to go to Sicily. The modifications to the car where made by Karfoosh.

Sylvana Bugeja went to Sicily for a day to study the type of security checks at the port. But again the weather led to a change in plans and it was decided that Armeni and her sister would not go and that the drugs would be imported by ship and not by power boat.

Police Sergeant Jason Caruana was sent to Sicily to represent the Maltese police force. On May 30, Bone took Raymond Borg and Psaila to the airport and they went to Sicily.

On arrival, the Italian police followed them and kept a close watch on the tunnel. They noticed the two men drive past the area several times until the car they were in stopped, Psaila ran out and headed towards the tunnel.

Raymond Borg was arrested on the spot but Psaila managed to escape. He was however arrested the next day while waiting for a bus in Catania.

Inspector Harrison said he asked the security service for a copy of the telephone conversations and transcripts. This led to several arrests and questioning by Inspector Nicholas Ciappara and himself.

Inspector Harrison explained that the first people to be arrested in connection with this case were Isaac Chetcuti and his mother Wilhamine, Noel Borg and Bonnici.

On August 3 the police questioned Gatt, Armeni, Sylvana Bugeja and Karfoosh. Gatt admitted to approaching the two women about the case and Karfoosh admitted to knowing why he was asked to make the alterations to the car.

On August 4 Yvette Muscat and Testa admitted their involvement and explained they had only acted on the instructions of Charles Muscat and Emanuel Camilleri, respectively.

Joseph Sacco and Charmaine Camilleri were also questioned that day.

Two days later the police questioned Emanuel Camilleri, John Camilleri, Raymond Magri, Carmen Saliba and Mario Camilleri.

The latter said that Charles Muscat had asked him to lend Lm10,000 to Emanuel Camilleri to buy property. But when Mario Camilleri asked for his money back and found out that it was going to be used to import drugs he was willing to accept drugs as payment.

He said his Lm10,000 were intended for the person who was going to drive the boat.

The police questioned Mona Camilleri, Bone and his father Joseph, Chisari, Monique Borg, Trabelsi, Saviour Sacco and Helen Bugeja between August 7 and 12.

On August 15 Sue Abela told the police that she was Emanuel Camilleri's former girlfriend adding that he had asked her to take cash abroad and get drugs to Malta. She said she only took the money but did not transport the drugs.

She also said that in 1996 and in 2000 she had taken cash to the supplier in Holland as Emanuel Camilleri had instructed her to do.

Alfred Bugeja and his brother Albert were questioned on August 16 and 17. They both said that when they agreed to Emanuel Camilleri's offer to transport drugs from Sicily their real intention was to claim that the Lm40,000 had been stolen when they arrived and keep the money. The sum was meant to be handed over to the supplier in order to obtain the drugs.

The head of the security service, Herbert Agius, exhibited CDs containing the recorded telephone conversations and transcripts.

The defence enquired whether a warrant authorising the tapping of the telephone conversations had been issued by the relevant authorities. The defence demanded that the warrant be exhibited in court there and then and also asked for the dates of when the tapping took place and when the warrant was issued.

The prosecution objected claiming that the law laid down that neither the prosecution nor the defence could ask questions about the way the security operations were conducted once a warrant had been issued.

Magistrate Peralta suspended the case for 15 minutes and then ruled that although he understood that the interception of telephone conversations was an effective tool in the war against crime such interception had to be restricted within the parameters of that same law that allowed it.

He said the court had to ensure that the basic rights of the Maltese people were being respected and thus ordered Agius to exhibit the warrant within an hour. He also ordered Agius not to communicate with anyone, adding that he should be accompanied by a court marshal.

The magistrate also ordered him to produce the dates of when the conversations were tapped, the dates when the warrant was issued and also dates showing extensions to the warrant, if any.

When the sitting resumed an hour later - it was by now 6 p.m. - the court was informed that Agius had consulted with Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet and was advised not to exhibit the warrant.

When some minutes later the Attorney General arrived in court he filed an application requesting that the court's ruling about the warrant be revoked because it was based on a misrepresentation of the law.

The defence noted that in communicating with the Attorney General, Agius had breached the court order not to communicate with anyone and that amounted to contempt of court.

The Attorney General said he was not aware of what was going on in the courtroom before he arrived and thus did not know that Agius had been ordered not to communicate with anyone.

After lengthy legal submissions by both parties the court dismissed the application filed by the Attorney General and confirmed its original ruling.

Agius was called to the witness stand a second time and when he was asked why he had not produced the warrant he replied he refused to do so.

Magistrate Peralta ordered Agius to produce the warrant and put off the sitting for 10 p.m. Agius left and returned later with the warrant which he exhibited.

The magistrate ruled he would consider the matter on the contempt of court at a later stage.

The case continues on Friday.

Police Inspectors Harrison and Norbert Ciappara prosecuted.

Dr Jason Azzopardi and Dr Ian Farrugia are appearing for Mario and Pierre Camilleri, Dr Azzopardi is appearing for Mona Camilleri, Dr Michael Sciriha, Dr John Attard Montalto and Dr Ian Farrugia are appearing for Emanuel Camilleri, Dr Farrugia is appearing for John Camilleri.

Dr Joseph Giglio is appearing for Bone, Chetcuti, Gatt, Armeni, Sylvana Bugeja and Karfoosh; Dr Giannella Caruana Curran and Dr Emmanuel Mallia are appearing for Charles and Yvette Muscat.

Dr Anna Mallia is appearing for Testa, Dr Martin Fenech appeared for Borg, Dr Franco Debono is appearing for Bonnici, Dr Chris Grima and Dr Kenneth Grima are appearing for Abela and Dr Deborah Attard is appearing for Albert Bugeja. Alfred Bugeja chose to appear unrepresented.