Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS THREE people have been charged in court after allegedly carrying out acts of aggression on police officers. In one arraignment, Erin Portelli, 18 from St Paul's Bay and Kelsey Pisani, 20, from Sig- giewi were charged with threat- ening and attacking a police officer at St George's Bay in St Julian's at around 2am yester- day morning, when the officer had gone to enforce a social dis- tancing measure. The pair were also accused of breaching COVID-19 legisla- tion by being in a group of six persons. Police officers had gone to speak to the group, at which point Portelli had started to in- sult the police and was arrested. Pisani was arrested later, after causing a scene at the police station. The two accused pleaded guilty and were fined €900 each as well as being conditionally discharged. Portelli was con- ditionally discharged for eight months, and Pisani for six months. Lawyer Leontine Calleja was legal aid. In a separate arraignment, a 48-year-old Pembroke resident was charged with violently re- sisting police officers, slightly injuring one officer, at the St Julian's police station on 1 May. Teresa Lucy Sciriha was also accused of breaching the public peace. She had gone to the police station to file a report but was visibly drunk and told to return when she had sobered up. Scir- iha had then accused the police of siding with the other party, becoming violent and needed to be restrained. The British national pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. The court appointed a pro- bation officer. Lawyer Jonathan De Maria was defence coun- sel to Sciriha. Inspector Joseph Xerri prosecuted both cases. Gozo drug finds Officers from the Police Drugs Squad arrested a 34-year-old man from Għarb in Gozo after a drug bust. The man was seen leaving his residence before driving to Qala and entering another house there. He left the property after some time and drove towards Victoria. It was there, at Tokk Square in Victoria, that the police surrounded his vehicle and searched it, recovering a small bag containing a white sub- stance suspected to be cocaine. Further searches at his home and the Qala property, assisted by canine units recovered sub- stances which police suspect to be cocaine and heroin. An inquiry was appointed by Magistrate Simone Grech. Police attacked during COVID beat, three charged Photos of the drugs haul retrieved in the Gozo bust