A taxi driver caught with 87 drug sachets under his seat last Sunday was spared re-arrest when his bail was challenged, but was barred from approaching the coast or airport as bail conditions were tightened.
Angus Camenzuli, 25, from Attard, had been granted bail on Tuesday after pleading not guilty upon his arraignment over aggravated possession of cocaine, cannabis possession, breaching previous bail conditions as well as recidivism.
That bail concession was challenged by the Attorney General by means of an application to the Criminal Court, even in view of the fact that the accused was familiar with some of the civilian witnesses who were still to testify.
Moreover, a family member of the accused had apparently attempted to contact one of these witnesses prior to the arraignment, the court was told.
The man’s lawyers, led by Franco Debono, countered that the duty magistrate who had presided over the arraignment, had been informed of such concerns before deciding on bail.
The prosecution’s fears were unfounded and there was no legal basis to revoke bail, given that the accused had abided by court conditions, the defence argued.
A court must evaluate the situation well before granting bail, said Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja, presiding over the Criminal Court.
Bail “automatically” implies a degree of trust in the accused who regains some of the freedoms forfeited upon his arrest.
Those include the right to communicate with others and to travel locally or, possibly, even abroad.
As soon as bail is granted, the accused may either choose the “physical, material and real possibility” of abiding by court conditions, or else, if ill-intentioned, may choose to breach court orders, observed the judge.
In this case, the Magistrates’ Court must have evaluated the inherent risk after being told about the attempt, by a relative of the accused, to approach one of the witnesses.
That was a matter of concern, said Mr Justice Bugeja.
Although the conclusion reached by the Magistrates’ Court was not “manifestly wrong”, given the circumstances, including the accused’s unruly character, more stringent conditions ought to have been imposed when granting bail, said the judge.
Thus, while rejecting the AG’s request for re-arrest, the court varied conditions by ordering the accused to sign the bail book on a daily basis instead of three times weekly and barred him from approaching within 50 metres of the coast or airport.
Monetary conditions were also varied so that the accused was to deposit €4000, instead of €1000, to secure his personal freedom.
A personal guarantee of €10,000 was lowered to €6,000 and curfew hours were also tweaked.
Inspectors Justine Grech and Colin Sheldon are prosecuting.
Lawyers Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb are also defence counsel.