Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535569
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 MAY 2025 2 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt New cannabis odour law practically unenforceable A new law that imposes a €235 fine on people causing a nuisance with canna- bis odour is unenforceable, Police Com- missioner Angelo Gafa has suggested. Police officers will have difficulty to identify different smells, he said when interviewed on TVM's Xtra on Monday, shifting the onus onto the Authority for Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC). "I saw comments made by the CEO of ARUC and I understand they will be taking the lead on this," he said, adding that he looked forward to holding dis- cussions with the authority to better understand what the police's role will be in enforcing this law. "It's a very difficult role because the police are not experts in odour… I, for one, am not capable to determine if a particular smell is cannabis, a cigar, or a vape," Gafa said. The police commissioner said his mes- sage to legislators has always been to enact laws that "can be enforced in the most effective way possible". The fine for nuisance caused by can- nabis odour was not part of the original amendments put forward in parliament to give ARUC greater power to regulate the sector. But in a surprise move that caught everyone off-guard, the odour amendment was introduced at commit- tee stage and approved unanimously last week. The use of cannabis for recreation- al purposes has been legal since 2021. Nonetheless, it remained illegal to use cannabis in public places. People could only use cannabis in the privacy of their home. What the new amendment does is go after individuals who smoke a joint at home and who happen to have neigh- bours who are bothered by the smell. On Xtra, Gafa said the police force has presented the home affairs minis- ter with draft legislation for the intro- duction of roadside drug testing on the same lines as breathalyser tests for alco- hol testing. Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa on Xtra Attorney General appeals court decision blocking hacker suspect's extradition to US The attorney general has filed an appeal against a court ruling that blocked the extradition of Daniel Joe Meli, a 28-year-old Żabbar man wanted in the US on hacking-related charges THE Attorney General has formally ap- pealed a Maltese court decision that de- nied the extradition of Daniel Joe Meli to the United States, days after the suspect- ed hacker won his legal battle to avoid be- ing sent abroad. The appeal was filed last week, chal- lenging a judgment handed down on May 13, which found that US authorities had failed to present sufficient evidence to meet the legal threshold required under Maltese extradition laws. Meli, 28, from Żabbar, is wanted by US law enforcement on charges linked to the alleged sale of remote access trojans (RATs) via the dark web between 2012 and 2022. US authorities allege the soft- ware was used to unlawfully access and control victims' computers and servers. His arrest in February 2023 came after a joint operation involving the Malta Police Force, the Attorney General's office, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the US Department of Justice. Initially, Meli had agreed to be extradit- ed. However, he later changed his mind and mounted a legal challenge, using new procedural safeguards introduced in Maltese law last year. These changes gave defendants more time to reflect on their decision and provided greater protections before extradition could proceed. The court ultimately dismissed the US request, criticising what it described as a "fairly lax" evidentiary approach by the prosecution and concluding that the legal burden of proof was not met. Meli has since been granted bail and re- mains in Malta. His case has drawn significant public attention, including a petition against his extradition that has garnered over 4,000 signatures. A parliamentary petitions committee has also endorsed continued support for the petition, urging the gov- ernment not to extradite him. Meli is represented by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Franco Debono. Daniel Meli consented to being extradited to the US on charges relating to the sale of sophisticated spyware, but he later changed his mind