Weekly News highlights

Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Cassar is sceptical about the possibility that ecstasy was being manufactured in Malta, saying the police had never unearthed any clues that could confirm this.

"Of course, you can never exclude anything. However, I have to say that the police have no intelligence that can verify this claim," Mr Cassar told The Times.

Sedqa, who voiced its concerns last week, also said they had no proof, but the drug's affordability made them suspicious.

Mr Cassar said it was very hard to establish how many abused of this drug, but those who took ecstasy usually did so before going to a party and the police were taking all the preventive measures to clamp down on drug abuse. He said the police were not giving up their fight on drugs.

Couple charged after cocaine, ecstasy seized

The police made one of their biggest drug hauls on Monday, a record 7,100 ecstasy pills and about three kilos of cocaine, estimated to have a street value of about Lm300,000.

The drugs were found in the luggage of a British couple living in Spain. Gregory Robert Eyre, 34, and Susan Jayne Molyneaux, 29, were charged on Wednesday with cocaine and ecstasy possession, importation and conspiracy.

Eyre pleaded guilty to the cocaine possession, importation and conspiracy and not guilty to the rest of the charges, while Molyneaux pleaded not guilty to all the charges. They were remanded in custody.

Air Malta Lm10m in the red

Air Malta lost over Lm10 million in its core airline business for the financial year ending July 31, sources close to the national carrier said on Tuesday. That Lm10 million loss excluded the operation of its subsidiaries. It also excludes the income and expenditure related to the leasing of aircraft.

The sources said that if one were to take the financial situation of the whole group, the picture becomes worse. "It is estimated that the Air Malta Group has lost in the region of Lm20 million for the year ending July 31."

The sources said the company's group heads and the unions have been informed of the financial situation. It has been decided that the national carrier should embark on an extensive cost-cutting exercise.

Lm30,000 worth of bird, mammal skins seized

Three men are being held by the police after two of them were allegedly found in possession of about 700 skins of protected birds, 23 mammals and three reptiles on their return from Cairo via Athens on Monday night. The third was arrested on Tuesday, police sources said.

Police said the value of the haul is estimated to exceed Lm30,000. Customs officers said this was the biggest single haul of skins made at any one time. The skins were in four suitcases.

Customs last year intercepted seven suitcases containing a total of 447 bird skins, the vast majority of which were protected species, some listed in appendix one of the CITES convention, which prohibits their trade.

Commissioner defends police in rape case investigations

Police Commissioner John Rizzo on Thursday defended the police's conduct over the Floriana rape case, saying they had acted in good faith throughout.

Mr Rizzo gave a number of reasons for this conduct, including Mr Jamal Badawi's resemblance to the victim's description.

He also said police had other reasons to charge Mr Badawi, who had given a false alibi. In fact, from Mr Badawi's itemised phone bill, it transpired that he had actually been in Floriana a few hours after the rape took place.

Mr Rizzo said the DNA profiling was inconclusive as the swab taken from the woman's face was contaminated. However, when a minor admitted to the rape charge, the police informed the court and Mr Badawi was bailed.

Yet he was kept in prison because he had jumped bail in another case. The minor who confessed to the Floriana rape has since been accused of two others. He is expected to be charged with the Floriana offence shortly.