A suspect drug trafficker, charged with complicity in an arson attack on his ex-girlfriend’s car two months ago, was denied bail after pleading not guilty on Monday. 

Ian Zammit, a 32-year old Żejtun resident, employed as a garage manager, was escorted to court under arrest over his alleged involvement in the incident dating to July 6, the day when the suspected arson was flagged to the Birżebbuġa district police. 

A report was filed on the day about a Range Rover that had caught fire on Triq il-Ġebel.

Officers from the arsons unit soon set about collecting evidence, including CCTV footage from the scene of the suspected crime, working their way to identify three people who were allegedly involved in the attack.

These were Joseph Buttigieg, the suspect arsonist, another man who accompanied him to the site, and Zammit, suspected of complicity in the affair. 

But when on July 26, the police knocked at the door of the man who allegedly set the car on fire, they discovered that he was dead, explained prosecuting inspectors Mario Xiberras and Jeffrey Scicluna during Monday's arraignment. 

The second man, a Macedonian national, was subsequently arrested and charged in court.

He chose to testify in his own proceedings, describing the events leading up to the arson.

The man told police that Zammit, known as is-Sugar, was his drug supplier. 

On July 6, he had called Zammit to place an order for cocaine, and later, the two men met near a Birżebbuġa restaurant where the delivery took place. 

Later that night, the Macedonian called his supplier a second time. 

But at the second encounter scheduled at Marsaxlokk at around 3am it was not Zammit who handed over the drugs. 

Instead it was a third man, later identified as Joseph Buttigieg, who stepped out of a Citroen car, walked up to the Macedonian and consigned the drug, telling him that all he wanted as payment was a lift to Birżebbuġa. 

During the drive to Birżebbuġa, Buttigieg had allegedly explained that they were to look out for a Range Rover model. 

Having reached Triq il-Ġebel, the Macedonian saw his passenger approach the vehicle with a jerrycan of fuel and set it alight, the prosecution explained.

Phone messages, photos

Phone data had also revealed a flurry of messages exchanged between the Macedonian man and Zammit over the span of an hour.

The Macedonian voiced concern for having ended up entangled in such an incident, while the other man replied: “don’t worry. Police will do nothing”.

Other data extracted from Zammit’s mobile phone consisted of images of large sums of money - one amounting to some €40,000 - as well as photos of suspected drug-filled sachets.

Zammit denied involvement in the arson but said that Buttigieg had been a friend of his former girlfriend, Inspector Xiberras told the court. 

The man pleaded not guilty to complicity in arson and to having allegedly caused wilful damage not only to the targeted vehicle but also to three other vehicles parked nearby as well as a private residence that was also damaged by the fire. 

He was further charged with supplying cocaine. 

A request for bail was objected to in view of the serious nature of the charges, the succession of phone texts exchanged and the manner in which the drug had allegedly been procured in a short term. 

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri rebutted that the accused had observed all conditions while under police bail over the past couple of months and also had a fixed address. 

Moreover, one of the alleged arsonists was dead and the third player involved in the crime had already testified in court, argued Debono, stressing that the prosecution’s fear of tampering with evidence had to be founded upon material evidence. 

However, after hearing submissions the court, presided over by magistrate Noel Bartolo, turned down the request for bail in view of the fear of tampering with evidence, having taken note of the nature of the charges, the circumstances of the case and the record sheet of the accused.

The court directed the prosecution to summon its witnesses without delay.

Inspectors Mario Xiberras and Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted.