Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1363129
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 APRIL 2021 MALTATODAY SURVEY Taking into account the actual performance of the political parties in the last general election, the PL could be ahead by just under 26,000 votes MATTHEW AGIUS A man with a long criminal record has been remanded in custody af- ter being implicated in a conspir- acy to import several kilos of co- caine and heroin. Terence Cini, 35, from Qormi was arraigned before magistrate Astrid May Grima yesterday, charged with conspiracy to im- port cocaine and heroin, com- plicity in the importation of illicit drugs, importing cocaine and her- oin, supplying cocaine and heroin, possession of cocaine and heroin in circumstances which denoted it was not exclusively for his person- al use and breaching no less than 4 separate bail decrees. He was also accused of recidivism. In court the magistrate heard In- spectors Steven-Ryan Micallef and Justine Grech explain how the po- lice had acted yesterday afternoon on a confidential tip-off about a drug deal. The police had taken a statement by an informant, later confirmed under oath, that the accused had conspired with others to import drugs. Cini is understood to have en- gaged the informant to work for him by importing drugs and sell- ing it whilst Cini was in prison. This person had been caught in the possession of 2.5kgs of co- caine and 250g heroin and decid- ed to collaborate with police. He had released a statement which he confirmed under oath last Sep- tember, in which he implicated the accused. Cini was last in the news in Au- gust 2020 after being charged, to- gether with his girlfriend Amanda Farrugia, with laundering €1 mil- lion. Before that, he had received a suspended sentence in 2011for threatening a man with an unli- censed shotgun. He had also been jailed for 16 months in 2013 after being convicted of cocaine and heroin possession. Bail was not granted and the court remanded Cini in custody. Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel. Drug trafficker concocted 2.5kg cocaine deal from jail Hugo's illegal burger kiosk attempts second regularisation bid JAMES DEBONO A mobile kiosk for the Hugo's Burger Bar chain is hoping to get regularised by the Planning Au- thority despite having already been refused permission on its Għaxaq roadside stop for being a traffic hazard. In what appears to be a case of stubborn persistence, Hugo's CEO Luke Chetcuti has present- ed an identical application to one already rejected back in October 2020, to regularise the mobile ki- osk, set in a corner between the Tal-Barrani road in Għaxaq and a very narrow lane. Although having rejected it the first time around, the PA still val- idated a second identical applica- tion filed two months later in De- cember. And despite being built and sited without any permit, no enforce- ment order or daily fines have been issued by the Planning Authority. Originally, the kiosk's permit was rejected due to safety concerns from Transport Malta that the ki- osk, located 12m off the Tal-Bar- rani arterial road, can cause con- gestion in this road, resulting in lack of visibility for drivers. Contrary to planning policy, the materials and stand-out colours of the kiosk do not relate to the natu- ral surroundings. At 42sq.m, the kiosk also exceeds a 20sq.m limit for such mobile eateries. Planning rules state that kiosks should not be sited where they are likely to cause problems of congestion or interfere with visibility near road junctions, or where customers have to stand on the carriageway to be served. Man on €1 million money laundering charge remanded in custody