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2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 SEPTEMBER 2024 2 MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt A man has admitted to hav- ing left a letter and a package containing drugs on European Commissioner Helena Dalli's doorstep, with the court being told that he suffered from se- rious mental illness, and had done so, acting under the delu- sion that the house belonged to boxer Conor McGregor. 31-years-old Travis Xuereb from Sta Venera was arraigned under arrest before magis- trate Yana Micallef Stafrace on Tuesday, accused of trafficking cannabis, aggravated posses- sion of cannabis and trespass- ing on Dalli's property. Xuereb was further accused of the online harassment of a third party between February 2023 to August 2024, misuse of electronic telecommunications equipment, breaching bail and recidivism. Police Inspector Stephen Gulia, prosecuting together with inspectors Keith Rizzo and Paul Camilleri, explained that Xuereb had been arrested at his home after police recog- nised him from security foot- age, as the person who dropped off the parcel, which was found to contain drugs, and a letter outside Dalli's home in Mar- saskala on July 31. Inspector Gulia explained that it emerged during the in- vestigation that Xuereb had been going through a men- tal health episode, for which he had been treated at MCH. Xuereb was readmitted after his arrest, before being released and re-arrested yesterday on the strength of another arrest warrant. Lawyer Roberto Spiteri, as- sisting Xuereb together with lawyer Michael Sciriha, asked the inspector to explain what Xuereb had told him about this incident. "On his part, the defendant thought that he had seen his idol, boxer Conor McGregor leaving the residence and had left the substances as a gift to McGregor. He had no intention of causing damage," the inspec- tor replied. The prosecution confirmed that it had been a simple coin- cidence that the residence be- longed to Dalli's, and that the issue had been caused by the defendant's hallucinations. The defendant had also been harassing several other people, contacting them on Facebook and persisting when there was no reply. Xuereb had subsequently been released from Mount Carmel and certified as fit to stand trial. When asked by Spiteri as to whether Xuereb had also been under the delusion that pop- ular radio show hosts JD and Martina had been talking about him on air, the inspector con- firmed that this was true. In reply to a question from lawyer Franco Debono, assist- ing the Dalli family as parte civile, the inspector also con- firmed that the family were worried that the items had been left on their doorstep with malign intent, but added that it had emerged from the investi- gation that the defendant had not even been aware that they lived there. Debono submitted that his clients had been "terrified" by the discovery and asked that a protection order be issued in favour of the Dalli family as well as the other victims. When asked what the defend- ant would be pleading, Spiteri told the court that his client would be pleading guilty and requested a pre-sentencing re- port. "We have an issue with Mount Carmel Hospital," said the law- yer. "I cannot understand how a person like Xuereb is repeat- edly being treated there for two or three weeks and then being discharged. We have a person here who needs stability and treatment," he said. Spiteri explained that Xuereb had been diagnosed as schiz- ophrenic and asked that the court order that the defend- ant be examined as part of the preparation of the pre-sentenc- ing report. The court adjourned the case to a later date for sentencing. Security footage shows man outside of European Commissioner Helena Dalli's House (Photo: Il-Mument) Troubled man left drugs at Dalli's house 'thinking Conor McGregor lived there' Man admits to leaving package containing drugs at Helena Dalli's home, court told he suffers from mental illness and that he was under delusion house belonged to MMA fighter Conor McGregor Glenn's mission: action plan GLENN Micallef will be expected to organise a policy dialogue for young people within the first 100 days of his approval as European Commissioner. This emerges from the mission letter Micallef was handed by Eu- ropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday when she announced the portfoli- os for the new term. Micallef, 35, was designated as European Commissioner for youth, culture, sport and inter- generational fairness. Like all commissioner-designates he will still have to undergo a grilling at the hands of MEPs before taking up his job. "Your task will be to ensure we keep supporting young people and build on what we have in common and what brings us together in di- versity, from our cultural heritage to sport at all levels," Von der Ley- en's letter reads. Micallef is also tasked with en- suring that decisions are taken with future generations in mind. CONTIUNUED FROM PAGE 1 Micallef, who was Robert Ab- ela's head of secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister until June, is arguably one of the least experienced commission- ers. This is very likely to have played a significant part in Von der Leyen's choice of portfolio. The EU's other smaller states, Cyprus and Luxembourg, were accorded respectively the port- folios of fisheries and oceans, and agriculture and food. Like all other commission- er-designates, Micallef has yet to be grilled by MEPs next month. In his first comments after the official announcement, Micallef said on X, formerly Twitter, it was a privilege to be entrusted to lead EU policies and initi- atives on the areas assigned to him. "I look forward to working with the European Parliament and all stakeholders. Few areas are as close to EU citizens' daily lives and experiences as youth, Abela insists of the strongest