Police who raided a Marsalforn apartment found cannabis and cocaine hidden inside a large loudspeaker on the apartment block’s roof, a court heard on Friday. 

Drug squad police officers were investigating Hanibal N Bashir Mohamed following an anonymous tip-off. Mohamed, 33, is a Libyan national who lives in Gozo. 

Prosecuting inspector Frank Anthony Tabone told the court that they found some cannabis joints inside the accused’s apartment. 

However, up on the common part of the apartment block at roof level, police officers came across a sizeable loudspeaker inside which they uncovered some 300 grams of cannabis and around 20 grams of cocaine. 

Mohamed was charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis under circumstances indicating that the drugs were not for his personal use. He pleaded not guilty to charges before the Gozo court and requested bail. 

His bail request was strongly objected to by the prosecution, given that civilian witnesses were still to testify as well as the risk of tampering with evidence and the gravity of the charges. 

The man’s lawyers insisted that Mohamed is innocent until proven guilty and said he had an alternative address in Malta where he could move to for bail purposes. 

However the court, presided over by magistrate Bridget Sultana, upheld the prosecution’s arguments, denying the accused bail. 

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.