Police officers testify in expedited trafficking case against woman

Police officers have told a court how hundreds of sachets of drugs were found in a van in Marsa as compilation proceedings against a woman, who was charged with drug trafficking just yesterday, continued this morning.

22-year-old Shana Farrugia had been arraigned under arrest before magistrate Neville Camilleri yesterday afternoon, accused of aggravated possession of heroin and cocaine. 

Farrugia was arrested on Monday morning after members of the Drugs Squad, acting on a tip-off, had approached a Mitsubishi van parked in Marsa and found the accused in the passenger seat, seated next to cardboard boxes that held around 200 packets of brown and white powder, suspected by the police to be drugs.

Farrugia was charged with aggravated drug possession yesterday with the compilation of evidence that began during her arraignment, continuing this morning with several police officers corroborating the account given by the inspector yesterday.

Taking the witness stand, Inspector Kevin Pulis exhibited various evidence bags containing all items recovered from the scene of the crime: a number of mobile phones, around €3,000 in cash, a fiscal receipt from a clothing retailer, 3 invoices from jewellers' shops, a designer watch, a black purse and a black leather pouch overflowing with cash.

Inspector Kevin Pulis is prosecuting.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia are Farrugia's defence counsel.