Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/867386
6 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2017 Ecstasy, cocaine, magic mushrooms powder and child porn found in Birzebbugia garage Police discover drug emporium, child porn inside man's garage after controlled drug delivery • The man was on bail pending appeal against a conviction for defiling a minor MIRIAM DALLI / MATTHEW AGIUS A man from Birzebbugia has been remanded in custody after police officers, track- ing a suspicious mail package, discovered drugs in his car, before going on to discover a recreational drug emporium inside the garage where he re- sided and child pornography on his home computer. Police said 39-year-old Keith Desmond Falzon was found to be in possession of all manner of illicit substances, in large amounts. He was out on bail pending an appeal against a conviction for defiling a minor. Falzon, from Birzebbugia, was arraigned before Magis- trate Joe Mifsud. He explained that he was currently sus- pended from his government job and earned his living by working as an unlicensed taxi driver. Inspectors Kevin Pulis and Jonathan Cassar from the Drugs Squad told the court the police had been informed that the accused was involved in drug trafficking and so had started to monitor his move- ments. Police discovered that a large parcel was due to be delivered to him and so a con- trolled delivery was set up. Falzon was observed picking up the parcel from the Birzeb- bugia post office yesterday morning, with two children in tow. He was arrested in Paola. A garage that the police had been informed belonged to him and to which he had the key was searched. In the back of his car, police discovered 4kg of cannabis resin and 1.5kg of cannabis grass. The garage was found to be stocked with "every kind of drug" said the inspector. Boxes of amphetamines, LSD cocaine, magic mushrooms together with viagra and va- lium which he would also sell, as well as €82,000 in cash were found in the garage. Vice squad Inspector Joseph Busuttil told the court that he had spoken to the two chil- dren, who had explained that the accused would sometimes take them and around four other children to the beach and other times have them sleep over at his house. "They said there had been sexual advances." Underage pornography was found on the man's computer hard drive and other devices were currently being exam- ined, added the inspector. Falzon was charged with 38 crimes in all, including drug trafficking, money launder- ing, participating in sexual activities with underage chil- dren aged between 7 and 11 years of age, corruption of minors, obtaining indecent images of underage persons, breaching bail conditions and committing a crime during the operative period of a sus- pended sentence. Defence lawyer Roberto Montalto entered a plea of not guilty. Bail was not requested. The court imposed a freez- ing order over all of Falzon's funds and assets. No bail for man accused of harassing partner's ex online MATTHEW AGIUS A young construction worker has been remanded in custody after being accused of threatening his partner's ex-boyfriend online. Albert Schembri, 26, of Birzeb- bugia pleaded not guilty to charges of misuse of electronic communications equipment, causing the other man to fear that he would suffer violence, harassing the man and recidi- vism. Inspector Charlotte Curmi asked the court to grant a protec- tion order in favour of the victim, should guilt be found. Magistrate Joe Mifsud ob- served that incidents of abuse of communication technology were on the increase. "The court feels that this type of crime is increasing the bur- den on the police, who instead of other work on crimes that are destroying our islands, amongst them drugs, must deal with the likes of this." The court, despite the prosecu- tion and defence agreeing that the man should be released from custody, denied him bail "to give him time to reflect on his behav- iour in view of the fact that this was not the first time that he had been charged with similar of- fences." Lawyer George Anton Butti- gieg was defence counsel. Two workers fall into shaft TWO workers were injured in a fall of around nine metres, the police's communications office said. The incident happened at around 10.30am in Notabile Road, Mriehel. The two men, of Syrian na- tionality, were working at a con- struction site. The two fell, land- ing inside a shaft. Members of the civil protec- tion department were called to assist the workers. One of them, 23 years old, was found to be suffering from griev- ous injuries, whilst the other worker was not seriously injured. An investigation by the police is underway. Bank of Valletta named preferred partner of Valletta 2018 Foundation THE partnership was an- nounced during a brief cer- emony held at The House of The Four Winds in Valletta and addressed by BOV chair- man Deo Scerri and Valletta 2018 Foundation chairman Ja- son Micallef. Also present for the occasion were Deo Debat- tista, parliamentary secretary for Valletta 2018 and Mario Mallia, chief executive officer of Bank of Valletta. Tracing the indelible links between the origins of the Bank and the capital city, Deo Scerri said: "The bank's link with the capital city goes be- yond the adoption of the name 'Valletta' in ours. The patron- age of arts and culture, as well as significant conservation projects have been featur- ing prominently in the bank's Communtiy Programme for decades." He said that the bank looks upon this role as integral to its commitment towards the community, as is its respon- sibility to continue growing sustainably and supporting the local economy and key players to grow. In this re- gard, Scerri also made refer- ence to the bank's decision to strengthen its capitalisation further by issuing a rights is- sue of €150 million over the coming months. "The robustness of our or- ganisation is the enabler that permits us to come to the fore and support Valletta 2018 Foundation as it hosts the Eu- ropean Capital of Culture in Malta." Thanking Bank of Valletta for its support, Jason Micallef said, "We are delighted to have Bank of Valletta as our part- ner through this journey. As we get closer to 2018, the level of interest and participating in the activities being organised continues to grow. Our close collaboration with the govern- ment, public authorities and the private sector is aimed to prolong the positive effect and having a long-lasting legacy for European Capital of Cul- ture 2018 and beyond." Bank of Valletta has been named the Preferred Partner of Valletta 2018 Foundation, leading up to the European Capital of Culture in 2018