Taxi drivers 'unaware that passengers were carrying drugs,' court told

Lawyers defending two taxi drivers who are accused of playing a part in last week's foiled attempt to import 10kg of cocaine from Sicily have suggested that the men were unaware that their services were being used to transport drugs

This morning Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard evidence tendered by a number of officers from the Drugs Squad
This morning Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard evidence tendered by a number of officers from the Drugs Squad

Lawyers defending two taxi drivers who are accused of playing a part in last week's foiled attempt to import 10kg of cocaine from Sicily have suggested that the men were unaware that their services were being used to transport drugs.

On Tuesday, 41-year-old Mario Vella and 38-year-old Jason Mamo were charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, which arrived on the catamaran from Sicily in bags carried by 51-year-old Carine Rose Marijke Donckers and Johnny Jos Haest, 46, both of Belgium.

But while Donckers and Haest had pleaded guilty to the charges and are awaiting sentencing, Vella, who was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis, and Mamo, who was additionally accused of having conspired to import both drugs in April, have denied the charges.

This morning Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard evidence tendered by a number of officers from the Drugs Squad.

On Sunday, 19 June, police had been carrying out surveillance on the Belgian couple, who had been living in a hotel in St Julian's. Just before 7pm the couple had been spotted leaving their hotel, heading towards Paceville and dining at a restaurant at the Baystreet complex. At 10:45pm the police had started following a taxi that had picked up Haest. The vehicle had stopped outside San Gwann and the police had moved in.

The taxi driver, who was later identified as Mario Vella, was handcuffed and a haversack that was wedged between the front and back seats was seized, the officers said. Police officers had searched the couple's hotel room but did not find any illegal items, but a haversack, similar to that found in the taxi, was discovered there.

A Drugs Squad sergeant explained that he had been briefed to expect a Seat Ibiza arriving from Pozzallo with two Belgian passengers and to follow them to their hotel. He had seen the Belgians leaving the hotel, getting into the Ibiza and parking it in the hotel garage. After the pair returned, the police had noticed a taxi waiting outside the garage.

It was observed stopping outside the Swieqi tunnels and a man emerged from it, folding up a bag as the taxi drove on. The taxi was stopped later on, near Mater Dei hospital. A bag containing blocks of a white substance was found inside it, together with a number of mobile phones, the witness said.

Lawyer Giannella De Marco cross examined the witness.

“Vella said that he had just given a ride to a person and that the person had left the bag there. He knew the person. He had been sent by Jason Mamo.” But he had not known what the contents of the bag were, the lawyer suggested. “In fact, he had asked if there was cannabis inside it, after I identified myself as from the Drugs Squad,” the policeman said, adding that the driver had offered to identify the person who had booked the trip, saying that he had no idea about the purpose. While he was being questioned, his mobile phone had started ringing, displaying the caller as “Omm Jason Mamo” ["Jason Mamo's mother"]. He didn't answer that call, the officer said.

Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone testified that Haest had explained to him how in Belgium, he had procured a Seat Ibiza which had been modified to include a detachable dashboard for hiding drugs. The vehicle had been registered in his wife's name.

The Belgian had told interrogators that he had imported 5kg of cocaine and some cannabis grass in April, driving from Belgium to Italy, before catching the catamaran to Malta. In April, Haest said he had stayed at a hotel in Mellieha where he arranged to meet Jason Mamo in Pembroke and had passed on drugs to him. “Johnny had been promised €10,000 for this,” the inspector said.

Upon his return to Belgium after the April trip, he had been contacted again and offered to repeat the operation. The couple had used the same car and this time they had around 10kg of cocaine. They had been booked into a Paceville hotel where they were to go and await instructions. Haest said he had found a taxi waiting for him upon arrival and had taken the bag with the drugs in it. The taxi driver had stopped mid-journey and told him to get out, before driving on with the drugs. Haest had identified Vella from photographs as the taxi driver and had identified Jason Mamo as having passed on the drugs to him in April 2017. Donckers had admitted to having been aware of the drugs that her partner was transporting, the officer said.

Mario Vella was later questioned by police after consulting with his lawyer. He had confirmed to having been contacted by Mamo and asked to pick up some people from the Corinthia Marina Hotel. He had done so, he said, and while he was driving, this person had contacted Mamo, who in turn, then instructed him to drop the person off on the road and to carry on driving their luggage to Birkirkara. Vella had denied knowledge of what was in the bag and had said that if he had known it was an illegal substance he would have refused.

“Vella consistently said: 'I am a taxi driver. I was contacted by these people to drive. I had never known what was in the bag,'” De Marco pointed out.

The Inspector confirmed this. “Nothing indicated that Vella had known what the contents of the bag were,” De Marco suggested.

The Belgians also had no prior contact with Vella, the inspector said.

The court adjourned the case to Tuesday for more witnesses and a possible decision on whether there were sufficient grounds to indict the men.

Police inspectors Kevin Pulis and Frank Anthony Tabone are prosecuting. Lawyers Giannella De Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran are appearing on behalf of Vella and Mamo, respectively.