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MALTATODAY 4 July 2021

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8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JULY 2021 NEWS A new direction for Local Governments to strengthen the community Hon. Minister Jose' Herrera " The Reform Continues: Public Consultation on Local Government Policy 2021. Access from: www.localgovernment.gov.mt " HAVE YOUR SAY! MATTHEW AGIUS THE Court of Appeal has con- firmed a lower court's refusal to release a fishing vessel allegedly used to smuggle fuel together with its cargo of 34,600 litres of gasoil, observing that it was set up to transfer fuel and not fish. The fishing vessel Dimitra and its distinctly non-piscato- rial cargo had been seized by customs in 2013 on suspicion that it was being used to smug- gle fuel. Paul Piscopo, owner of Dim- itra Fishing Company, Medi- terranean Samac Ltd and Sun- oil Management Co Ltd, had his boat Dimitra seized in July 2013 by Customs officers. The operation led to the seizure of four vessels with undeclared diesel on board. Piscopo's boat alone carried 34,600 litres of diesel, 8,000 litres of which were smuggled. Piscopo is also a president of fishing cooperative Għaqda Koperattiva Sajjieda. The owners of the Dimitra, Paul Piscopo and his wife Alex- andra, had subsequently filed court proceedings requesting the release of the vessel and its cargo. This request was object- ed to by the customs Director General who argued that the fuel had been found, stored in plastic tanks on the vessel in suspicious circumstances. The vessel was stopped in the contiguous zone of Maltese maritime territory and there were indications that it was be- ing used to regularly smuggle fuel without paying VAT and duty on it, he said. When it was intercepted by the AFM, the vessel's moni- toring system (VMS) had been found to be turned off at sea, there was no fishing equipment on board and its fishing licence had expired. Instead, AFM per- sonnel found eight 1,000 litre plastic tanks full of fuel for which the ship's captain and crew had no explanation. The Dimitra was escorted to the Grand Harbour for further investigation. More plastic tanks of fuel were found in the hold. The Piscopos had argued that the Dimitra ought to be re- leased, amongst other reasons, because fishing was their live- lihood and as the value of the allegedly untaxed fuel was dis- proportionate to the value of the vessel. In 2017, the First Hall of the Civil Court, presided by Mr Justice Silvio Meli had dis- missed the request, and or- dered the police to investigate the owners, saying that the "re- sultant indications were that the company was involved in the contraband of petroleum products through the use of fishing vessels." The owners had filed an ap- peal, arguing amongst other things, that the vessel had been outside Maltese territorial wa- ters at the time it was inter- cepted, that the VMS had been malfunctioning and that no criminal proceedings had been filed against them by the po- lice and so it was "out of place" for the court to order them to do so. Moreover, the crew had been charged with criminal of- fences in relation to the inci- dent and found not guilty, they said. The Court of Appeal, presid- ed by Chief Justice Mark Chet- cuti, noted that the vessel was intercepted 22 nautical miles off the Maltese coast, there- fore inside Maltese territorial waters. Since it was Maltese flagged, the Maltese authori- ties had authority to board the vessel anywhere. All of the fuels found aboard the MV Dimitra could not have originated from an approved and legal source by Maltese dis- tributors, because gasoil sold in Malta as duty free must have a Sudan Marker and red dye in it. Both of these were missing. A court-appointed expert re- ported that the vessel had been set up to deliver diesel to third parties. "There was no sign that fishing activity was carried out recently." The Court said that from the evidence, the court of first in- stance had been correct in con- cluding that the apparatus was voluntarily turned off by the captain. It said the action for confisca- tion was correct, that criminal proceedings against the captain were still pending and that the seizure notes were determined as being justified. "It is not the case that this court will uphold the appellants requests to re- lease the objects subjected to the contested notes of seizure." Co-op man's 'fuel smuggling' ship will not be released Paul Piscopo, owner of Dimitra Fishing Company, Mediterranean Samac Ltd and Sunoil Management Co Ltd, had his boat Dimitra seized in July 2013 by Customs officers. The operation led to the seizure of four vessels with undeclared diesel on board. Piscopo's boat alone carried 34,600 litres of diesel, 8,000 litres of which were smuggled

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