Woman involved in drugs case granted bail after court considers her pregnancy
Arrests were made after a police raid in Manikata
A court granted bail on Monday to a heavily pregnant woman accused of drug trafficking and organised crime.
Italian national Alessia di Pasquale, 30, together with Romanian nationals Teodor Laurentiu Barbulescu, Alexandru Marian Basa and Florin Serbanescu, was arrested in April when police raided a property in Manikata. All four pleaded not guilty.
Cataloguing the drug haul on Monday, court expert and pharmacist Gilbert Mercieca testified that a “substantial” amount of drugs had been seized by the police, including 20 cannabis plants, 252 tabs of LSD, 1676 pills with different colours and markings that were all found to contain MDMA, eight bags of THC buds weighing 528 grams, 219 grams of THC resin and eight packets of cocaine weighing seven grams.
A vacuum sealing machine and a number of sealable bags were seized.
Defence lawyer Jason Azzopardi requested bail for Di Pasquale, arguing that smoking was commonplace in prison, and this could impact the health of her soon-to-be-born child, as would the restrictions to her mobility if she were jailed.
Azzopardi also countered a prosecution argument that bail should be rejected on the basis that the accused was unemployed. He argued that the law did not specify that one had to be employed in order to be granted bail.
He appealed for a humanitarian approach given Di Pasquele’s condition.
The woman's mother testified that she would act as her daughter’s guarantor and provide her with a place to live.
Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici granted bail, against a deposit of €15,000, plus an additional €60,000 if bail conditions are breached.
Di Pasquale will be required to report to her local police station four times a week. A curfew from 6pm to 6am was also imposed.
No request for bail was made for the other accused.
AG lawyer Julian Scicluna prosecuted, assisted by police inspector Mark Mercieca. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and assisted Di Pasquale. Lawyers Alessandro Farrugia, Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta appeared for Di Pasquale and Serbanescu, while Matthew Charles Zammit represented Barbulescu and Basa.