Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/723651
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2016 News Court orders re-arrest of suspected trafficker who absconded to Hungary MATTHEW AGIUS A court yesterday revoked the bail granted to a Nigerian man who absconded to Hungary while awaiting trial for master- minding a 2010 cocaine smug- gling attempt. 32-year old Stephen Ikeckik- wu Egbo had been arrested in late November 2010 during a sting led by drug squad police. The investigations led to the seizure of 60 capsules of co- caine that had been discovered in the stomach of a Romanian drug mule on arrival to Malta from Dusseldorf a week prior. Using the information gar- nered from the Romanian's in- terrogation, the Drugs Squad had carried out a controlled de- livery to the Nigerian's home in San Gwann and arrested him. Egbo had only been in Malta for three months at the time. He was subsequently charged with conspiracy to import co- caine. News reports from the time show that his request for bail was initially refused, but as of- ten happens, this was eventu- ally granted under strict condi- tions. But after Egbo failed to turn up for several court sittings in late December 2015, police found that he had changed his address without inform- ing them and had probably ab- sconded. He was stopped and arrested in Hungary last March on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant and returned to Malta under police escort. He took to the witness stand in August, telling magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera that he had been granted bail "3 or 4 years ago" and had been legally employed as a licensed security guard. Egbo had been ordered to sign a bail book every day as part of his bail conditions which, he claimed, made it impossible for him to work. His wife had left him as a result, he said. The Nigerian had applied to study at MCAST to find a bet- ter job after embarking on a romantic relationship with a Hungarian girl, who promptly fell pregnant and returned to Hungary as he couldn't provide for her. At the same time his security guard licence was revoked be- cause of the ongoing criminal proceedings, leaving him with no income and homeless. A further complication pre- sented itself in the form of a refusal by the Hungarian au- thorities to acknowledge a declaration of paternity that he had sent through a notary, insisting that he make it in person. He had never seen his daughter, he said. He claimed to have left Malta "because he saw that no pro- gress was being made in his drugs case" and felt that the five-year wait meant that his right to a fair trial had been violated. In her judgement on the mat- ter, Magistrate Scerri Herrera noted that although the prose- cution had declared that it had no further evidence to produce in 2014, it took till March 2016 for the criminal inquiry to be concluded, because of several requests filed by the Attorney General for more sittings to hear evidence. The court urged the Attor- ney General to issue the Bill of Indictment without further delay, while pointing out to the accused that he was afforded remedies at law to contest such a situation. "It is true that the situation that the accused found himself in can be frustrating, but do- ing what he did certainly did not help the situation but only worsened his own case," the magistrate said. Egbo's bail was revoked, the court ordering his re-arrest. His €2,500 deposit was also confiscated, as was his €35,000 personal guarantee. Suspended sentence and €1,000 fine for Sicilian pot smoker MATTHEW AGIUS A Sicilian man has been fined and handed a suspended sentence after he admitted to importing a small amount of cannabis grass into Malta for his own use. 47-year-old Antonio Andolfo, from Catania, appeared before magistrate Francesco Depasquale yesterday morning, accused of possession of cannabis and with importing the drug. He was also charged with recidivism, having been convicted of transporting a stolen BMW into Malta in 2013 – a conviction confirmed on appeal a year later. Andolfo, who said he worked and lived in Malta, admitted to the charges, saying the drugs were solely for his personal use. Police Inspector Gabriel Micallef told the court that this version of events was consistent with the small amount of cannabis found and from the accused's initial statement to police. The court asked the accused a second time whether he wished to confirm his admission. Andol- fo shrugged and said he did. The court handed down a sen- tence of imprisonment for one year, suspended for four years, to- gether with a fine of €1,000 to be paid over 10 months. The court ordered the confisca- tion and destruction of the drugs. Lawyer Yana Micallef Stafrace appeared for the accused. Antonio Andolfo appeared before magistrate Francesco Depasquale, accused of possession of cannabis and with importing the drug Tears in court as Eritrean apologises for lying to Refugee Commissioner MATTHEW AGIUS AN Eritrean man has apologised in court after he appeared under arrest, charged with making a false declaration to the Office of the Refugee Commissioner in a desperate bid to be granted hu- manitarian protection. Inspector Darren Buhagiar said that the accused had been in Malta since 2012 and had tried to change his identity after his original claim for asylum was rejected. After pleading guilty, Alex Tek- lu Haylemariam broke down in tears as he explained how he had been trying to obtain refugee status for five years, but had been rejected as he was born in Ethio- pia. "I was born in Ethiopia but I am from Eritrea ... I am sorry." Magistrate Francesco Depas- quale informed the sobbing Eri- trean that while his frustration was understandable, it didn't justif y him lying to the authori- ties. The court found him guilty. After taking into account the man's circumstances, however, Haylemariam was sentenced to imprisonment for six months suspended for two years, also re- ceiving a stern warning that this incident was not to be repeated. Nine months' jail for man using someone else's passport MAT THEW AGIUS A Libyan man has claimed that he didn't know it was unlawful to use someone else's passport for travelling, as he was jailed for doing precisely that, this morning. Inspector Darren Buhagiar arraigned Mansour Muftah, 28, from Tahourka before Mag- istrate Francesco Depasquale earlier today, accusing him of trying to use a Maltese passport issued to another person at the airport on Sunday. Muftah was arrested at check- in after it was noticed that the passport he presented was not his. He was asked what he would be pleading. Speaking through an interpreter, he told the court that he had left his Libyan home- land because of the unrest there. The court clarified that the ac- cusation was not about this, but his use of another person's pass- port. The court asked whether this was true. Somebody had beaten him up in Malta, Muftah replied. The court repeated the ques- tion. He said that he had, but "had not been aware that it was against the law." After dictating the transcript to the court clerk, Magistrate Depasquale, choosing to err on the side of caution, asked the man for a fourth time whether he wanted to plead guilty. The reply came in the form of a ques- tion as to whether he would be going to prison directly if he did. Law yer Yana Micallef Sta- frace, the Libyan's exasperated defence counsel, explained that the accused had told her before the sitting that he wasn't going to admit to the charges, but that now he wanted to plead guilty "although it was apparent that the accused did not appreciate the consequences." For good measure, the court invited the accused once more to confirm his plea. This time the accused started talking animat- edly in a loud voice to the trans- lator. Eventually he confirmed his admission. "Okay, yes." Muftah was sentenced to im- prisonment for nine months. After the sitting, the raised voices continued, with the Lib- yan loudly remonstrating with the police officer who was de- tailed with escorting him to prison. "Thank you, thank you," the convicted man could be heard to say, sarcastically.