Updated 6.05pm

A haulier, a Malta Freeport security officer, a customs officer and a freeport employee were each fined €6.6 million and jailed on Tuesday after being convicted of defrauding the government in a major cigarette smuggling operation. 

The case revolved around a container with more than 10 million cigarettes which was stolen, emptied and then returned to its place at the freeport.

Security officer Christopher Calleja, 69, from Valletta, was sentenced to an effective four-year jail term, while haulier Malcolm Zammit, 44, from Qormi was jailed for three years. Each were fined €6.6 million.

Customs officer Sebastian Zammit, 73, from Safi and Malta Freeport employee Roderick Borg from Qormi, who were arraigned separately, were jailed for three years and two years respectively and also fined €6.6 million.

In two lengthy judgments, the court observed how both the accused were “cogs in a machine,” each playing a specific and essential role, functioning in “perfect synergy” at the appropriate moment. 

That synergy meant that in a matter of minutes a container full of cigarettes intended for transhipment was loaded onto a trailer and taken outside without going through any checks, although the Malta Freeport was covered by security cameras. 

The merchandise was then unloaded, replaced with stone slabs wrapped in shrink wrapping and the trailer was taken back inside and returned to its place. 

The entire operation was conducted from start to finish in less than two hours, in broad daylight and in the presence of other workers.

Such daylight robbery was “totally orchestrated down to the last detail” by three Freeport officials who were roped in because of their crucial positions and fulfilled their roles when the time came in “impeccable manner” permitting Malcolm Zammit to drive out of the Freeport with a container full of cigarettes. 

Each of the co-accused was linked by a common design with other third parties, some still unidentified to date. 

The court closely examined footage that was presented in evidence, observing how security measures were totally done away with in respect of a particular trailer and white van while all other vehicles were stopped, passes scanned and contents checked. 

In the case of the suspected trailer, rather than being checked to make sure it was empty, it was allowed to go out through the lane intended for empty containers, still sealed. 

When meting out punishment the court took note of the very serious nature of the offences whereby the State coffers were robbed of millions in excise duty and taxes which could have been used to fund social benefits, health services and relief payments. 

Moreover, the State had to pay large sums in duties owed to the European Commission. 

The daylight robbery involved over 10 million cigarettes with a value exceeding €300,000.

Although the accused were not a danger to society the court observed that they did not care about tarnishing the Malta Freeport’s reputation and adopted a nonchalant attitude as to the consequences of their actions. 

Tax evasion ultimately hit the most vulnerable members of society and the court was bound to send out an unequivocal message that “crime does not pay.”

The accused clearly did not care as long as they fattened their pockets leaving the weak to fend for themselves, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech remarked. 

She ordered all to pay €1,123 in court costs and also ordered the confiscation of the trailer. 

Roderick Borg and Sebastian Zammit seen during their arraignment in 2015.

The investigation was launched following a report that a container shipped to Malta on July 24, 2015 was taken out of the Freeport, only to be returned to its original location 90 minutes later. It still bore the Customs Department security seals.

The prosecution, led by Inspectors Rennie Stivala and Carlos Cordina from the Economic Crimes Unit, charged the men with the theft of the container from the Freeport laden with 10.5 million cigarettes.

The consignment was in 1,050 cases each containing 10,000 cigarettes valued at €304,500 in total. 

The men are alleged to have defrauded the government out of €1.66 million in excise duty, €175,000 in importation duty and €386,000 in Value Added Tax, for a combined figure of €2.23 million.