A man who was remanded in custody on Monday after being accused of growing 55 cannabis plants in a field in Xewkija, Gozo, was granted bail on Wednesday and ordered to keep away from the field.

Luke Zammit Haber, 30, was arrested on Sunday following a surveillance operation by the Drug Squad.

A search on the premises yielded the plants, of varying sizes, as well as seeds and other drug-related items, more of which were discovered at his Xewkija home. 

The following day, he pleaded not guilty to cultivation and possession of cannabis under circumstances indicating that the drug was not intended solely for his personal use.

He was also charged with unauthorised possession of LSD and Ketamine.

His lawyers told the court that the accused had a dependency on the drug and made no profit from the cultivation. 

The court had turned down a request for bail.

When proceedings kicked off on Wednesday, prosecuting Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca explaining how officers spent days monitoring the field.

Other police officers testified that other fields were also targeted by investigations over suspected cultivation-related activity.

A fresh request for bail was not objected to by the Attorney General, while the prosecuting officer pointed out that the sole objection pivoted upon the gravity of the offence.

 Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech granted bail after observing that in terms of  jurisprudence on this issue, gravity of the offence alone was not sufficient ground to deny bail. Moreover, the court was also informed that all evidence was preserved.

Zammit Haber was granted bail against a deposit of €10,000, a personal guarantee of €15,000, signing of the bail book three times weekly and a curfew between 10pm and 6am.

The court also ordered the accused not to approach the field.

Lawyers Matthew Xuereb and Alex Scerri Herrera are defence counsel.