A drug trafficking suspect contacted a witness to stop him from testifying against him, prosecutors told a court on Tuesday in a case that also featured the name of a criminal lawyer.

Prosecutors told the court they had recordings of Terence Cini, 38, discussing a pending criminal case of his with Michael John Mugliette, who was in prison at the time. They also said they believe Cini sent lawyer Matthew Xuereb to speak to Mugliette in prison.

In the recorded phone calls, presented in court on Tuesday, Cini told Mugliette he would pay a €40,000 fine as well as €7,000 in pending court expenses for him. Mugliette is alleged to have told Cini he would not testify against him.  

Mugliette had linked Cini to a drug deal in testimony given under oath in 2020.

He was due to testify in the case against Cini on Monday, but when summoned to the witness stand, said he could not remember what he had testified back in 2020.

Police immediately arrested Cini on suspicion of attempting to suborn a key witness.

Police Inspectors Mark Anthony Mercieca and John Leigh Howard told Magistrate Nadine Lia, who presided over Tuesday’s arraignment, that criminal lawyer Matthew Xuereb’s name had also emerged in the course of their investigations.

Xuereb, they told the court, had gone to speak to Mugliette in prison despite the latter having no reason to require a lawyer, as he had no pending criminal cases.

When police looked into why the lawyer went to speak to Mugliette, it emerged that Cini told Mugliette that he (Cini) had paid Xuereb.

The inspectors said more people might be charged over the case. Sources close to police said Xuereb was called in for questioning.

Cini, who is pleading not guilty, was remanded in police custody.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Alfred Abela represented Cini.