Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/791658
SAVIOUR BALZAN TWO young Gozitan men were given the opportunity to ex- punge a police statement in which they admitted they had been trafficking drugs. This was made possible by the timely intervention of two senior government politicians, MaltaToday has learnt through various sources. The case goes back to the sum- mer of 2014 when police appre- hended two young men who had been present at a party in the bay of Mgarr ix-Xini in Gozo. The two youths, one from Munxar and the other from Victoria, whose identities are known to MaltaToday, were ar- rested and interrogated by the police and in their declaration admitted to trafficking in drugs. The two men and their fami- lies are well known in Gozo and days later, two senior politicians met in a government building in Victoria where they had a meet- ing with the fathers of the two men. Eyewitnesses said the fathers of the two young men entered the building from a side door to avoid being noted. MaltaToday is privy to specific details of the meeting. GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT COMFORTING, WARM DESSERTS www.gourmettoday.recipes PANCAKE DAY THE COMFORT ISSUE FAMILY ROASTS BRUNO BARBIERI Newspaper post PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT NO MAN'S LAND FREE WITH MALTATODAY We spoke to two of the nine Malian detainees released last week to talk about the legal limbo they face in Malta 14 15 AFTER THE PANAMA COMMITTEE Political satire takes centre stage in Carnival festivities PAGES 16-17 How can a Prime Minister afford to retain a minister whose offshore set-up is 'a textbook case of money laundering' PAGE 2 YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT maltatoday today today SUNDAY • 26 FEBRUARY 2017 • ISSUE 903 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY San Gorg rope in De Marco firm for finance plc MATTHEW VELLA MANY of Malta's public land sales are the inevitable stuff of controversy: whether they serve as a seedbed for massive multi-million investment, or 'innovative' private educational institutions, expect rival political parties to be at loggerheads. But even then, private businesses in Malta know how to court political favour where it matters. SD Finance Plc – a newly created public lim- ited company owned by the developers of the DB San Gorg, on the site of the Institute of Tourism Studies – has roped in the offices of PN deputy leader Mario de Marco's legal firm to act as company secretary. SD Finance is expected to serve as the vehicle to raise public funds for part of the €300 mil- lion hotel and luxury home venture. €1.40 PAGE 11 12 13 Gozitans arrested on drug charges changed police statement after political intervention