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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 APRIL 2014 7 News CALL FOR COMMISSION MEMBERS AS PART OF THE IMPLEMETATION OF MEPA DEMERGER, GOVERNMENT IS SEEKING THE EMPLOYMENT OF COMMISSION MEMBERS. The Office of the Prime Minister is seeking highly motivated, well-qualified professionals to serve as Chairpersons and members of the Commissions. The Chairperson should hold a recognized qualification in Architecture and Civil Engineering or Planning or Environmental Management. Members will be chosen from amongst persons holding a degree in Members will be chosen from amongst persons holding a degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering, Planning, Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Cultural Heritage. Applicants are to have at least five years experience in their relative field. The Office of the Prime Minister is offering a four year appointment with a possibility of renewal for a further final period of four years. Applications, together with a detailed CV, should be sent to: human-resources.opm@gov.mt by not later than 7th April, 2014. Accused in €640,000 cocaine bust says he went to Holland on business trip The owner of a container in which 6.2 kg of cocaine were found in 2005, facing trial by jury charged with importation of drugs with the intent to traffic ARNOLD Farrugia, 44, yesterday faced a trial by jury on charges of having imported 6.2kg of co- caine in a freezer trailer. Prosecuting law yer Lara Lan- franco said Farrugia had taken the refrigerated container to the Netherlands, where drugs were hidden in the cooling unit. The container was brought to Malta onboard the vessel Maltese Fal- con. At the same time, the ac- cused took a f light back to Malta via the United Kingdom. On 25 July, 2005, at 10am offic- ers from the Drug Squad moved in on a container that had ar- rived from the port of Genoa on the Maltese Falcon and was unloaded at Laboratory Wharf. A truck belonging to Emmanuel Vella and Sons arrived on site to tow the container, however after the Customs Officers were in- formed that the container was under investigation, the police escorted it to the groupage com- pound in Hal Far. The merchandise inside the container, which belonged to Arnold Farrugia, was unloaded and the trailer searched, with negative results. An attempt was made to search the cooling unit of the trailer however the officers could not unbolt it and the container was sent for X-ray scanning at the Freeport. The scan showed unjustified shadows inside the unit and the refrigerated container was again returned to Hal Far where physi- cal examination, in the pres- ence of the accused, revealed six tile-shaped black plastic packets and one smaller one. In total the packets contained 6.2kg of 85.8% pure cocaine, with a street value of between €434,700 and €639,630. This was the biggest drug bust registered by the police at the time. European warrant for conspirator Assistant Commissioner Nor- bert Ciappara said that Farrugia had claimed he had gone abroad to strike a deal with a transship- ment company in Luxembourg, but went to Holland to buy a ticket to England as it was cheap- er from there. Asked by the investigators about the company he allegedly went to deal with, the accused could not remember the compa- ny's details. Farrugia also denied any knowledge of the drug found in his container. The following morning, the investigators spoke to Emanuel Vella, of Express Trailers, who told them that the accused had asked him if he had any work coming in from Brussels as he had an empt y container wait- ing to be brought from there. Vella's nephew had then spoken to a driver instructing him from where to collect the container to be transported to Malta. Subsequently, in November 2005 the police were informed that three men, one of whom was Maltese, had been appre- hended in the Netherlands over drug trafficking allegations. One of the foreigners, Hasan Ben Salah, a 33-year-old Mo- roccan with a Dutch passport, was suspected of being the per- son who had sold the cocaine to the accused. Fingerprints lifted from the packets found in Far- rugia's container matched those of Ben Salah. A European Arrest Warrant was issued against Ben Salah, who was surrendered to Malta and faced criminal pro- ceedings. The defence raised an objec- tion, claiming that if the jurors knew how the cases against Ben Salah was concluded, it could lead to prejudice against the accused. Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano banned the witness from telling the jurors the out- come of Ben Salah 's case. Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano is presiding. Law yers Lara Lan- franco and Kevin Vella are rep- resenting the Attorney General while Arthur Azzopardi and Ed- ward Gatt are representing the accused.

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