Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538195
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 AUGUST 2025 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Police intercepted the pair as they disembarked from a cata- maran arriving from Sicily and uncovered the stash during an inspection of a vehicle they were driving. A court heard on Tuesday that 21kg of cannabis grass, 3kg of cocaine and 750 ecstasy pills were found inside hidden compartments in the car. The narcotics have an estimated street value of €650,000. A court was told the pair have no fixed address in Malta, with the woman having a seasonal job in agriculture, and the man unemployed. Bail was not requested by the accused's lawyers. However, defence lawyer Roberto Montalto told the court that the woman is a new mother, and is current- ly breastfeeding and wishes to continue doing so. The court recommended no- tifying Child Correctional Ser- vices to make arrangements to allow Vranic to pursue breast- feeding while in prison. Magistrate Lara Lanfranco presided. Attorney General lawyer Ma- ria Francesca Spiteri and In- spector John Leigh Howard prosecuted. Defence lawyer Roberto Mon- talto appeared for the woman. Legal aid lawyer Ingrid Zammit Young appeared for the man. Man and woman charged with smuggling cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy pills into Malta LABOUR MEP Thomas Bajada has called for urgent action by the European Commis- sion over illegal lampuki fishing by Italian and Tunisian fishermen. "Recent social media footage, publicly shared by Tunisian and Italian fishers as early as 25 July 2025, appears to depict ac- tive fishing and possible commercialisa- tion of Common Dolphinfish during this prohibited period, which remains in force until 14 August 2025," he said in a letter to European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis. Footage uploaded to TikTok by a num- ber of fishers shows lampuki being caught by Tunisians and Italians. Lampuki fishing in the Mediterranean is only allowed from 15 August to 31 De- cember, and any fishing carried out out- side the season is in breach of General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterra- nean (GFCM) regulation. In contrast, Maltese small-scale fishers have demonstrated full compliance with the established rules and have not de- ployed Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) or as they are known in Malta as Kan- nizzati, in full respect of the multiannual management plan. On Tuesday, government announced the free distribution of palm leaves to fisher- men ahead of the lampuki season, with more than 3,000 fronds handed out so far. "This situation raises serious questions of enforcement and fairness," Bajada told the commissioner. He called for the EFCA and national authorities to urgently investigate the al- leged illegal activities, evaluate whether EU countries or other GFCM parties have breached their obligations, and formal- ly raise the issue at the GFCM Compli- ance Committee in November, urging the toughest enforcement actions, including listing offending vessels and operators. "These allegations represent a clear threat to the integrity of the jointly agreed GFCM multiannual management plan and to the sustainability of the Common Dolphinfish stock. They also pose a se- rious injustice to compliant small-scale fishers, particularly in Malta, who are bearing the economic cost of following the rules, while others may be profiting through illegal practices," the MEP said. Bajada also pointed out this is not the first time the issue has been raised, with parliamentary questions made by himself on 13 August 2024. "Similar concerns had already been flagged, and we cannot allow continued impunity to erode credibility and trust in our shared governance framework," he said. This is not the first time lampuki fishing has led to concerns being raised in Euro- pean fora. In 2019 MaltaToday had reported how Tunisian fishers were plundering Gozitan fishing grounds. The situation has escalated to Maltese fishers reporting being threatened by the Tunisians wielding machetes and Molo- tov cocktails. A man has pleaded not guilty to a series of serious sexual offences involving a minor, including abuse that allegedly took place on a boat in Marsaxlokk. Andre Massa is accused of sexually cor- rupting a 13-year-old girl, engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct without consent, and harassing the victim, all al- legedly taking place repeatedly in recent days. The alleged incidents occurred on a pri- vate boat, which the defence claimed does not belong to the accused. The court has ordered photographs of the vessel to be submitted before the next hearing, given the closed and confined nature of the space where the offences re- portedly occurred. The defence also requested copies of all statements made by the minor, and called for a ban on the publication of both the accused's and the victim's names, citing family connections that could lead to the minor being identified. While the court issued a protection or- der in favour of the victim, the request to withhold the accused's name was denied. Bail was also requested on the grounds that, since the victim's statement is al- ready on record, there would be no risk of witness tampering, and noted that Massa had cooperated fully with police during questioning. However, the prosecution objected to the bail request, arguing that the victim still needs to testify formally and that her police statement was just a preliminary report. They stressed the seriousness of the charges and the prior connection between the accused and the victim. Ultimately, the court denied bail but or- dered that the victim testify at the next sitting. The court also heard that Massa is not a first-time offender and has previous- ly been convicted of criminal offences, which bring about charges including re- cidivism. The case continues. Defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared for the accused. AG lawyer Miriayah Borg and inspectors Ryan Vella and Wayne Bonello prosecuted. Magistrate Lara Lanfranco presided over the case. Bajada sounds alarm over illegal fishing of lampuki by Italian, Tunisian fishers during off-season Man denies child sex abuse charges involving minor on boat MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt Lampuki fishing in the Mediterranean is only allowed from 15 August to 31 December, and any fishing carried out outside the season is in breach of General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) regulation Man pleads not guilty to charges of sexually corrupting 13-year-old girl