Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/565097
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 SEptEmbEr 2015 3 News Stolen container of cigarettes left Freeport in lane for 'empties' Matthew agiuS A court has heard that a shipping container full of cigarettes evad- ed being inspected by leaving the Freeport using a lane normally re- served for empty containers. The evidence was given in the compilation against two Freeport workers and two Customs offi- cials, who are charged in connec- tion with the theft of a shipping container holding 10.5 million cigarettes, valued at €304,500. The compilation of evidence against a group of Freeport work- ers; stevedore Malcolm Zam- mit, security officer Christopher Calleja, customs officer Sebastian Zammit and stevedore Roderick Borg, who are charged in connec- tion with the theft of a shipping container holding 10.5 million cigarettes, valued at €304,500 be- gan yesterday afternoon. The men are accused of having defrauded the government out of €1.67 million in excise duty, €175,000 in importation duty and €386,000 in Value Added Tax - a combined figure of €2.23 million in lost revenue. The men are accused of having defrauded the government out of €1.67 million in excise duty, €175,000 in importation duty and €386,000 in Value Added Tax – a combined total of €2.23 million. Stephen Calleja, Operations Manager at the Freeport for the past ten years, testified first, ex- plaining in reply to questions by Inspector Carlos Cordina the procedure by which Freeport ste- vedores used to identify contain- ers destined for Malta, and trans- shipment containers, and stack them accordingly. "Every operator would have a job list detailing which container he needs to load or unload. If an employee had not received any information, he would have no reason to move a container." Calleja had been shown CCTV footage from the day. "From the CCTV, I had recognized the re- stacker to be re-stacker 67, and checked his record, which stated that he should have been else- where." The inspector asked who was driving the stacker. "Roderick Borg (a Freeport worker, one of the accused) was recognised from his punch card number," was the reply. The witness pointed out Borg in the courtroom. "From the information avail- able to me, there were no instruc- tions for this container to leave the terminal." Asked what the container's contents were, he said they are not informed because they only deal with the containers themselves. "The stacker loaded it onto a re- frigerated truck, which stopped to let another truck pass, and then followed it out of the terminal." He explained that security guards normally check the contents of containers as they leave the fa- cility "but this did not appear to have happened in this case." He added that the truck took the exit lane usually used by trucks carry- ing empty containers. Cross-examined by customs of- ficer Sebastian Zammit's lawyer, Roberto Montaldo, he said that he had not been informed as to who was the official to be on duty for the customs department – Cus- toms are authorised to inspect containers at their discretion, be they imports or transhipments. Answering a question as to whether it was normal for empty containers to be sealed, the op- erations manager said it wasn't. "Normally it is the shipper who seals a container, and if it is opened by customs, another seal is put on." Cross-examined by accused Freeport worker Malcolm Zam- mit's lawyer Joe Giglio, the wit- ness confirmed that entry and exit from the Freeport is documented and that there was no method for an employee to enter the terminal without registering for a pass and being picked up on CCTV. "Therefore Malcolm Zammit was aware that he was being mon- itored on CCTV," said the lawyer. Another witness summoned by the prosecution, customs inspec- tor Jerome Azzopardi, testified that as detail officer, he was re- sponsible for maintaining leave and sick leave records and the al- location of work out of hours. Asked about Sebastian Zammit and customs officer Pierre Deli- cata, he said that on the day in question, he had asked Delicata to work with another worker, but the other worker subsequently called in sick and so Zammit was called to fill in. "I informed Delicata that Zam- mit was going to assist him. These two senior customs associ- ates were therefore on duty on the day." He recognized Zammit in the courtroom. Pierre Delicata, who had been interrogated by the police in con- nection with the theft, also testi- fied. He said he had been at work with Zammit. A container had left the Freeport and so Zammit had gone to check the container while he stayed in the office. The driver had given Zammit the pa- pers after he had taken them back into the office for processing, he said. Asked whether he had seen any- thing unusual that night, he said that in order to exit with an empty container, the driver would show a manifest to the person manning the gate, and if it was empty the container would be allowed to go ahead. If not empty, the container would be sent back. "That day the container was not empty," said the witness. Delicata said that on occasion, empty containers could be sealed by the agent as a precaution against stowaways. "If a container has no seal, it means it is empty. The container in question was sealed." Zammit had given him the cus- toms export documents, he said. "I had gone to the ground level to pick up the documents for a cargo container, at that time the other container, the 'empty' one had gone through lane three. Zammit had dealt with the empty container. It was not listed on the schedule." Asked if, on busy days, empty containers are simply not checked as this is a time-consuming proc- ess, he replied that this would be "blasphemy" for customs. "The empty containers must always be checked." Bail was requested separately. The court will deliver a decree on bail from chambers and will continue hearing witnesses on the 10 September. Coast Road works in final phase TRANSPORT Malta has re- ceived the approval of the Super- intendence of Cultural Heritage on the method of construction of the road next to the Salina Salt pans, following a number of changes due to various archeo- logical findings. A contingency plan is also in place in case of further discov- eries. This means that works at the Coast Road can proceed to the final phases. Remaining works include exca- vation, the drilling of a number of piles, the laying of concrete and the formation of foundation and slabs. This will be followed by the formation of the road and asphalting. Due to the nature of the re- maining works, space restric- tions and in the interest of the workers' safety, it will not be possible for cars to drive south through a small stretch of this road. Southbound drivers will instead be diverted around the area through the t'Alla u Ommu road and then into Maghtab to join the nearly completed part of the Coast Road. The south bound traffic will now be using the same route which has been used by the northbound traffic for some time. The diversion is scheduled to come into place tomorrow at around noon. The prescribed diversion is the best alternative to avoid potential congestion in the Naxxar and Iklin intersec- tions for those travelling south beyond these two villages. "Transport Malta would like to appeal once again for motorists to follow the signs vigilantly, use the southbound Coast Road through the Magħtab access road and to drive safely. This includes keeping to the national and local speed limits, no over- taking as well as showing cour- tesy to all the other road users," the authority said. Four Freeport workers are accused of having defrauded government out of €1.67million in excise duty Remaining works on the Coast Road include excavation, drilling of a number of piles and laying of concrete slabs