Man denied bail after alleged importation of cannabis resin as police search for accomplice

Police have told a court that they are searching for the presumed accomplice of a man who was charged with importing cannabis resin through the mail this afternoon.

David Jimenez Madrigal, 22, from Spain was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Lara Lanfranco, accused of importing the still-illegal form of cannabis. 

Police Inspector Marshal Mallia explained how, on September 19, customs officers at the UPS offices in Luqa had discovered a package addressed to a “Spanish-sounding” recipient at a Sliema property. 

The package was found to contain a Ludo box, inside which approximately 400g of cannabis resin was concealed.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that the name on the package was false and the address specified was uninhabited. 

Madrigal was arrested yesterday when he had gone to collect the package from Luqa, after specifying its tracking number. UPS staff contacted the police, who then moved in to arrest the suspect.

When asked by the court registrar to give the address of his current place of residence, the 22-year-old defendant reached into his pocket and retrieved a crumpled piece of paper. “Old College Street, Sliema,” he said, without providing a residence name or door number. 

Asked what he did for a living, Madrigal gave another vague reply - “at a family business in Spain.”

Lawyer Franco Debono, defence counsel together with lawyer Francesca Zarb, told the court that his client would be pleading not guilty. Bail was requested.

The prosecution objected to the request for the man’s release from arrest bail, Inspector Mallia arguing that “everything indicates the drugs aren’t for his personal use.” Madrigal did not cooperate with police, and had in fact initially given false address information. The occupant of the first address specified by the defendant did not know him and after taking the police to a second block of flats, Madrigal was unable to tell the police which apartment he lived in.

He later told the police that he didn’t have a fixed address in Malta, and would sleep at his friends’ houses.

“Besides lying, when faced with the reason for his arrest, he initially denied having gone to pick up the package,” said the inspector.

A second man was still being sought by the police in connection with the importation of the drugs.

Making submissions on bail, lawyer Franco Debono stressed the presumption of innocence, telling the court that the address issue was “a misunderstanding,” and insisting that his client had provided the police with an address.

The lawyer observed that after an inordinately long wait, cannabis associations had finally been officially set up today.  He remarked that the situation was ironic, saying that the State had “put the cart before the horse and instead of first legislating about where to legally acquire the drug, it legalised the possession of a substance which cannot be legally purchased.” 

In his submissions on bail, Inspector Mallia pointed out that the defendant had only given a street name, and had not specified a residence.

“Furthermore, this case deals with cannabis resin, which has remained illegal across the board,” said the inspector. “It is only cannabis plants that have been legalised.”

After taking note of the uncertainty surrounding his address, his lack of ties to Malta and the risk of him absconding, Magistrate Lanfranco denied bail.

A freezing order was issued over all of the man’s assets, as is required in drug trafficking cases.