A man whose plans to cross over to Gozo with his girlfriend on Wednesday evening were thwarted by the police was granted bail on Friday after pleading not guilty to drug charges. 

Bjorn Grima, a 35-year-old Sliema resident, who had faced another arraignment over his alleged involvement in setting fire to a historic Floriana arch almost two years ago, landed in fresh trouble on Wednesday. 

The man was driving to the Gozo ferry with his girlfriend, at around 6pm on Wednesday, when he was stopped by the police at the Ċirkewwa terminal. 

Officers searching his vehicle came across a suspicious packet containing some 30 grams of cocaine. 

The man was arrested and escorted to court on Friday, pleading not guilty to possession of cocaine under circumstances indicating that the drug was not solely for his personal use.

He was also charged with breaching bail conditions. 

A fresh request for release from preventive custody was strongly objected to by prosecuting inspector Alfredo Mangion.

However, defence lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia argued upon the man’s presumption of innocence and the fact that the sole civilian witness was the accused’s girlfriend who, apparently, had already denied any knowledge of the drug discovered in his car. 

After hearing submissions by both parties, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, upheld the request, granting bail against a deposit of €5,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000.