Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1506631
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 AUGUST 2023 2 MATTHEW VELLA A night-time operation by the police drugs squad on Monday saw the arrest of persons con- nected to a drug operation at the Racecourse Bar in Marsa. The operation focused on es- tablishments, garages, and resi- dences in Marsa, Ħamrun, and Naxxar following several days of investigations and observations on the garages located on Ġer- rejja Street in Marsa. Police said one individual was arrested for involvement in drug trafficking, where a search of the premises found a total of 385 co- caine wraps, 250 heroin wraps, and 45 synthetic cannabis wraps, all packaged for sale in small bags. A connected search was made in a Naxxar residence where €10,500 in case, two vehicles, company documents, jewellery and mobile phones were seized. A substantial amount of cash was also discovered in the same garage, along with a stolen mo- torcycle, metal bars, a knife, a significant number of mobile phones, CCTV cameras, and other items associated with drug trafficking. The operation extended to var- ious parts of Marsa and its sur- rounding, where 67 individuals were apprehended residing in Malta illegally. Police said the individuals will be repatriated to their country of origin or to an original point of EU entry. Other arrests were related to prostitution, leading to the con- fiscation of €4,600 in cash. Magistrate Dr. Leonard Carua- na is leading the inquest. Marsa drug arrests: 385 cocaine and 250 heroin wraps seized in night-time operation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 One of the defendants is Donna Sciberras, 29, a familiar name to the police, who had been jailed together with two men in 2015 for stealing jewellery and cash from an elderly man after the gang assaulted him. Four years later, in 2019, Sci- berras, formerly Borg Sciberras, had again teamed up with two male accomplices to assault and rob an elderly wheelchair-bound man. Borg Sciberras told the court that she was unemployed and lived "nowhere". She pleaded not guilty to charg- es of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with a sharp and pointed instrument, holding the victim against his will in order to threaten him, aggravated theft and causing voluntary dam- age worth over €2,500. Further charges relating to carrying a knife in public and using it dur- ing the commission of a crime, as well as disobeying lawful po- lice orders. Donna Sciberras was further charged with breaching bail and recidivism. The other two defendants hail from Morocco. Zuhair Hadoumi, 26, a resident of Sliema, told the court he was an electrician and plumber. He, too, pleaded not guilty to the charg- es. Mohamed Anas Boualam, 37, a construction worker living in Zebbug, also denied the charges. In the courtroom, while waiting for the sitting to begin, Sciberras suddenly jumped out of the dock to attack a co-defendant, while swearing at him in Arabic. Police officers immediately intervened and briefly ushered the man out of the courtroom, before bring- ing him back in - this time with police officers sitting between the defendants. When the arraignment began, Inspector Jonathan Cassar gave the court an overview of what led to the trio's arrests. He said that Zurrieq police station had received a phone call at around 7:30pm on 25 August about a hold-up. Police officers arriv- ing at the scene had to force the shop's door open to release the victim, who was rushed to hospi- tal and eventually found to be in danger of dying. CCTV footage led the police to the defendants, who were arrested on Sunday at a residence in Sliema. The sus- pects had unsuccessfully tried to escape the arresting officers before being taken into custody. Lawyer Brandon Kirk Muscat, appeared for Sciberras while lawyer Maria Karlsson repre- sented the other two defendants for today's sitting. The lawyers did not request bail. Muscat asked the court to order a social inquiry report be drawn up for his client. The court refused, however, saying that this was a matter best ad- dressed by the court assigned to the compilation of evidence. A protection order was issued in favour of the elderly shop- keeper. Prosecutors Anthony Vella and Kayleigh Bonnett represented the Office of the Attorney Gen- eral, assisting Police Inspectors Jonathan Cassar, Shawn Pawney Lydon Zammit and Stephen Gulia. Protection order issued in favour of elderly victim of Zurrieq robbery The jewellery shop in Zurrieq (Photo: Malta Police Force)