Fourth bail release for man charged with drug trafficking and money laundering

A 35-year-old Qormi man has been released on his fourth concurrent bail, this time after being charged with buying ammunition on the black market.

Terence Cini was arraigned yesterday before Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo accused of buying two boxes of handgun ammunition from another man in Qormi on 12 February, with a 47-year-old man residing in Bahar ic-Caghaq.

The other man, whose name is subject to a ban on publication, was arraigned on Monday before Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras and had admitted to charges of having supplied the ammunition. He was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment suspended for a year.

This was Cini’s fourth bail request to be upheld by the courts. Two are over drug trafficking charges and the third was over money laundering offences. He is also accused of breaching the conditions of his previous releases.

Inspector Shawn Pawney objected to the bail request made by lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia, but this was overruled. Cini was released on bail against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €4,000.