An alleged drug-trafficker awaiting trial over a 1.5 kilo cannabis haul at an Msida garage three years ago is claiming that forensic testing of the drug in an unaccredited laboratory breached his fundamental rights.

Nicholas Vella had been arrested in June 2016 after a surveillance operation by the drug squad which had led to the discovery of a cannabis cache at Msida. The accused had been arrested after he was seen entering the garage.

A sachet of cannabis grass had been found in his possession. Nine bars of cannabis soap and cannabis resin, amounting to almost one kilo of 7% purity, were found at the premises. 

Mr Vella filed an application against the Attorney General, requesting the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction to provide “effective and appropriate remedies”. He said his right to a fair hearing had been breached stemming from the fact that the drug seized during the police raid had been tested inside a local laboratory which, at the time, was not ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) accredited.

The issue revolves around an EU Council Framework Decision of 2009, implemented under Maltese law in March 2016, making it obligatory for member states to ensure that forensic laboratories were accredited in line with international standards. 

In this case, the drugs, found in June 2016, had been handed over to a court-appointed scientific expert and the relative tests carried out in a local laboratory that had not been so accredited, thereby casting doubt on the results obtained.

The situation gave rise to “shortcomings and serious prejudice” since the applicant lacked assurance that the relative “analysis and results” were in conformity to international standards, Mr Vella's lawyers argued. They said such shortcomings spelt the nullity of the criminal proceedings. 

Moreover, the fact that neither the applicant nor a witness in the trial had been assisted by a lawyer when releasing their statements during the interrogation - a right only granted later under Maltese law - signified that such statements further breached the applicant’s right to a fair hearing, as upheld consistently by EU and local case law.

Consequently, the applicant requested the court to uphold the breach and to provide the necessary remedies accordingly.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia signed the application.