Man charged over drugs find, walks out of court after arrest declared illegal

A man who was arrested on Monday after police discovered 46 sachets of drugs in his possession, has been released from custody after his arrest was declared unlawful

46 sachets of drugs were found in the accused's car
46 sachets of drugs were found in the accused's car

A man who was arrested on Monday after police discovered 46 sachets of drugs in his possession, has been released from custody after his arrest was declared unlawful.

37-year-old Stefano Montebello, who has no fixed address, was arrested in Qawra on Monday after ducking into a nearby shop when a police patrol noticed that his car was parked illegally and approached him for his details.

A search of Montebello’s car returned 19 sachets of a brown substance thought to be heroin, 27 sachets of a white powder which police suspect is cocaine, together with a knuckle duster and cash.

The man was arraigned by Inspector Warren Galea on Monday afternoon before magistrate Ian Farrugia, accused of amongst other things, aggravated possession of illegal substances and drug trafficking.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In lengthy submissions, lawyer Franco Debono, defence counsel together with lawyer Francesca Zarb contested the validity of the man’s arrest, insisting that in terms of the Criminal Code, an arrest is not lawful unless the person arrested is informed that he is under arrest and given the reasons for his arrest in a language he understands.

This did not appear to have happened in Montebello’s case, claimed the lawyer, arguing that if the court had even the slightest doubt about whether the legal criteria for arrest were present, this had to be in favour of the defendant.

Magistrate Farrugia upheld the defence’s argument, and declared the man’s arrest to be illegal. The drug case against Montebello will still continue, but unless the Attorney General files an appeal against the decision, he cannot be remanded in custody.

The court ordered Montebello’s immediate release from custody. In view of the decision, no bail request was filed.