Deliveryman accused of drug trafficking

Charlon Theuma, 25, of Floriana faced drug charges after a police patrol found 59 packets of various drugs on his person.

Theuma appeared before magistrate Ian Farrugia accused of possession of cocaine, heroin and cannabis in circumstances which denoted they were not exclusively for his personal use. He was also accused of being a relapser.

Inspector Steven Ryan Micallef told the court that Theuma had been spotted acting suspiciously by a police patrol. The police had been on the look out for Theuma, having received information about a possible offence, said the inspector.

When he was searched, police found Theuma to be carrying 59 sachets of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. The majority of the drugs found was cocaine, said the inspector, explaining that only around 11 of the sachets found contained heroin and a smaller number contained cannabis.

Theuma, who was described as having a ‘colourful’ criminal record in court, had not answered questions put to him by the police during his interrogation, said the inspector.

Asked what he pleaded, Theuma hesitated and then pleaded not guilty. Bail was requested by his lawyer, Amadeus Cachia.

This was objected to by the prosecution, who pointed out that the drugs had been divided into packets, ready for distribution and that the accused was already on bail on similar charges. There was a real fear of him tampering with the evidence, said the inspector.

Cachia argued that it was not contested that the accsued had a drug problem and asked the court to order the man be placed under supervision if bail were to be granted.

The court, however, after taking into account the circumstances and nature of the accusations, ruled that there was a real risk of evidence being tampered with. Also noting that the police investigation was still in its early stages, the court denied bail.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel.