A driver, who first tried to reverse out of a police roadblock then got out, telling them that he was looking at a car showroom, landed in hot water after officers came across a bag of drugs close by.

The incident took place on Tuesday evening when officers from the Birkirkara police station were dispatched to carry out road checks at Notary Zarb Street, Attard. 

That was when they noticed a Citroen Berlingo van, driven by a man later identified as Reno Azzopardi, apparently attempting a reverse manoeuvre. 

As the officers approached, the driver got out and began to walk around in that area.

Asked by police what he was doing there, the man said that he was looking at a car showroom. 

But there was no showroom in sight, said prosecuting Inspector Ritienne Gauci when explaining the events leading up to the suspect’s arrest. 

A personal search of the man had not yielded anything. 

However, the officers came across a bag containing a number of sachets filled with suspected cocaine and heroin in the spot where the driver had stopped. 

The 38-year-old driver was arrested and was on Wednesday charged with possessing cocaine and heroin under circumstances denoting that the drugs were not solely for personal use, driving without a valid licence and insurance cover as well as relapsing. 

He pleaded not guilty. 

A request for bail was objected to in view of the accused’s criminal record which showed that he was not trustworthy. 

Moreover, although he first told police that he lived in Marsascala, he later supplied an address at Cospicua. 

But when the police visited that address, taking with them a bunch of keys found in the man’s possession, none of the 12 keys matched the lock on the front door, said the prosecutor. 

The accused had not cooperated and the police did not have peace of mind that they would track him down at that address if he were to be granted bail. 

Defence lawyer Mario Caruana, assisting the man as legal aid, asked whether the police had officially confirmed the Cospicua address and the inspector replied that they did. 

The accused was self-employed in construction and he wished to continue with his work, added the lawyer. 

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia, turned down the request in view of the nature of the charges, the accused’s untrustworthiness and the fact that at this stage he did not appear to have a fixed address.