Two unemployed men were yesterday charged with involvement in an attempted armed robbery at a gaming parlour on Sunday morning.

In addition to the hold-up charges, one of them also had drug charges added to his list after the police allegedly caught him in possession of heroin when they went to his house to arrest him on Tuesday.

Reno Azzopardi, 30, of Cospicua, and 45-year-old Domenic Fava, of St Paul’s Bay, denied the attempted armed robbery at the Fair Play outlet in St Paul’s Bay.

They were further charged with illegally holding an employee against his will, while Mr Azzopardi alone was charged with slightly injuring the employee when he allegedly hit him in the face with the weapon he was brandishing.

They were further charged with illegally holding an employee against his will

Mr Fava alone was charged with supplying the weapon and breaching the conditions of a probation order.

Mr Azzopardi alone was charged with being in possession of an unlicensed firearm, using it during the commission of a crime and with using violence to induce a person to do his bidding.

He was also charged with the aggravated possession of heroin, which was found in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use. He was caught with the drugs on Tuesday when the police approached him over their investigation of the attempted hold-up.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit denied their request to be released on bail and remanded them in custody because of the risk that they approach the prosecution’s witnesses.

Police inspectors Saviour Baldacchino and Malcolm Bondin prosecuted, while lawyer Joseph Ellis appeared for the men.