A father of two arrested in a major drug operation in Cospicua in April was remanded in custody on Friday, after facing charges stemming from the raid. 

Emanuel Brignone, a 58-year-old Cospicua resident, was escorted to court under arrest, three months after his children Joseph and Annalise had been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to aggravated possession of cocaine, cannabis and psychotropic drugs, as well as alleged money laundering. 

As investigations continued after the siblings’ arraignment, their father was granted police bail until the prosecution gathered further evidence. 

That evidence led to the father’s arraignment on Friday.

He pleaded not guilty to trafficking cannabis, cocaine and synthetic drugs, as well as possession of the drugs under circumstances indicating that they were not intended for his personal use. 

The alleged offences were further aggravated by the fact that they were committed within 100 metres of a place frequented by youths. 

The major operation had been undertaken by the Drug Squad, the district officers and the Special Intervention Unit and had included weeks-long surveillance. 

Joseph Brignone had been arrested on a Saturday night after being blocked by police vehicles at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Shogun in Triq il-Kottonera. 

In his bid to get away, he crashed into two police cars but was arrested and handcuffed.

A search on his car had yielded a firearm, a machete, €6,000 in cash and drugs.

Two residences in Cospicua, a garage in Fgura and another in Marsascala were subsequently searched by police.

The father’s request for bail was turned down by the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, not only in view of the gravity of the charges and the serious nature of the case, but also since the proposed third party guarantor was not deemed sufficiently trustworthy to provide the necessary security. 

Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel.