A man who was caught in possession of drug sachets at Marsa on Tuesday evening was remanded in custody upon arraignment on Thursday.

A court was told that police who were patrolling the area of Triq is-Salib tal-Marsa on Tuesday at around 8.30pm spotted the man, later identified as Ahmed Omer Hassan Musoud, acting suspiciously.

The 28-year old Sudanese national was found in possession of 49 sachets filled with a greenish substance, that looked like cannabis, and also an amount of cash.

A magisterial inquiry was requested and a scientific expert subsequently confirmed that the green substance was one of the drugs on a scheduled list in terms of the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance.

Musoud was charged with possessing the drug under circumstances denoting that it was not solely for personal use, further aggravated by the fact that the alleged offence was committed within 100 metres of a place frequented by youths.

He pleaded not guilty.

A request for bail was objected to because in his statement the accused had told police that he had no fixed residence and was sleeping at a friend’s place. Although the suspect said that he worked in construction, he had produced no evidence to support that claim.

Moreover, civilian witnesses were still to testify, argued prosecuting Inspector Mark Cremona.

Legal aid lawyer Martin Farrugia rebutted that none of the risks against the granting of bail were proved. Nor was it proportionate and necessary to go into issues of work and residence arrangements, went on the lawyer.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello turned down the request since in his statement the accused said that he was homeless and could not provide an address. He could not guarantee that he would be served notice to appear in court.