Jury clears Zambian man of heroin trafficking

A Zambian man was given a one-year conditional discharge after being cleared of trafficking heroin but found guilty of simple possession of cannabis

Police had intercepted an SUV driven by Pierre Cardona, and found 522.19 grammes of heroin in it (File photo)
Police had intercepted an SUV driven by Pierre Cardona, and found 522.19 grammes of heroin in it (File photo)

A jury has returned an emphatic not guilty verdict in the trial of a man accused of trafficking heroin in 2009.

The week-long trial by jury of Isaac Unigwe, 34, from Zambia concluded late on Saturday with the Zambian receiving a conditional discharge for simple possession of cannabis, having been found not guilty of trafficking heroin.

Unigwe had been indicted for conspiracy to sell heroin, supplying the prohibited narcotic and simple possession of cannabis. He had first come to Malta in 2003 as a footballer with a local club, later marrying a Maltese woman and fathering four children. Unigwe's footballing career had been short-lived, however and he ended up unemployed in 2007.

The facts of the case date back to 22 July 2009. At around 10pm that night, the police drug squad, acting on a tip off, had intercepted an SUV in St Paul's Bay. Officers found Pierre Cremona behind the wheel, and 54 capsules, containing 522.19 grammes of heroin hidden in the car. The drug, at purity of 28%, was estimated by experts as having a street value ranging from €15,666 to €65,274.

Prosecuting lawyers Nadia Attard and Anne Marie Cutajar from the Office of the Attorney General had suggested that Unigwe had seized an opportunity for easy money when he had been introduced to Pierre Cremona, known as is-Cigar. It was alleged that Unigwe had met with Cremona and another footballer, Sunday Eboh in 2009 where it was agreed that Unigwe would supply 54 capsules of the drug to Cremona who would then sell it on at a profit.

Cremona, 42, of Balzan, had been jailed for 7 and a half years in 2016 for his part in the operation. His name had previously been in the headlines after he survived an assassination attempt in which a remotely-detonated explosive device was placed outside a boathouse in Armier in 2013.

Upon his arrest, Cremona had released a sworn statement, which he had repeated before an inquiring magistrate, claiming to have bought the drugs from Unigwe for €8,000 and that he had been on his way to return them “because the quality of the drugs supplied did not meet the agreed standard.” He opted not to testify in Unigwe's trial.

Unigwe had denied involvement in the heroin operation and had candidly told police that he had been using cannabis since 2009 and that he would consume cannabis resin and grass due to stress caused by his wife.

Defence lawyer Roberto Montalto had attacked the source of the information which had given rise to the charges against his client. Cremona had blamed the accused because he knew Unigwe had been in trouble with the law in the past and had citizenship problems, the defence claimed.

After retiring to deliberate, the jury returned verdicts of not guilty by six votes to three on the heads of indictment relating to conspiracy to traffic heroin and not guilty by eight votes to one of trafficking heroin. He was unanimously found guilty of simple possession of cannabis, however for which judge Antonio Mizzi handed Unigwe a one-year conditional discharge.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel.

Lawyers Nadia Attard and Anne Marie Cutajar led the prosecution