Tourist remanded in custody over drugs, laughing gas haul
Accused found with 90 cylinders in the car and 15 sachets of drugs in his boxers
An Englishman was remanded in custody on Tuesday after being charged with possession of cocaine and ketamine as well as laughing gas.
Andre Benjamin Thomas Simmonds, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard how, in the early hours of May 4, during a traffic inspection in St Paul’s Bay, police stopped a vehicle for a routine check.
The prosecution explained that while officers were speaking to the driver, he appeared nervous and agitated, raising suspicions that he might be carrying illegal items. He was therefore asked to exit the vehicle so that both he and the car could be searched.
Police found 15 boxes containing cylinders of laughing gas in the boot of Simmonds’ car. In total, around 90 cylinders were discovered, six in each box.
He was arrested and taken to Qawra police station for further questioning.
At the police lock-up he was strip-searched and police found 15 packages containing suspected illegal substances in his boxers including six packets of a pink substance (4.48g), eight of a white substance (3.3g) and one packet of a brown substance (0.78g).
The prosecution objected to a request for bail but the defence argued that the accused’s mother was willing to assist him. The defence also presented a month-long booking for an apartment near a police station as proof that Simmonds has a fixed address in Malta.
However, the court noted that the booking was made “quickly” by his family and “only goes to show how faint, nay, non-existent these ties are”.
The court also noted that the accused had admitted to his interrogators that he was preparing to leave Malta on Tuesday itself and that the 15 sachets found in his underwear “were intended for his own use”.
The magistrate also pointed out that the accused’s girlfriend, who had travelled to Malta with him, “immediately left these Islands instead of staying on in support of her boyfriend”.
The court denied bail “due to the risk of absconding to avoid punishment”.
The prosecution was led by Inspector Warren Galea together with lawyer Nadia Ciappara on behalf of the Attorney General. The accused was represented by lawyers Nicholas Mifsud, Jacob Magri and Arthur Azzopardi.