Man, 20, charged with drug and driving offences released on strict bail conditions

Lee Formosa, a 20-year-old man, has pleaded guilty to driving without a license, breaking bail conditions, leading to his release on bail with a €2,000 deposit and a €20,000 personal guarantee.

The inspector said in Court that on 19 December 2024, at around 10:00am whilst the police were outside the police station, they saw a white car with the accused inside. When the police looked at the direction of the car, the man lowered his head and drove off. 

The police followed the man and subsequently arrested him. When the police asked him for his driver’s license, the man told him: “Are you serious? You don’t know?”. 

The inspector revealed that the man was arraigned for previous charges, such as the unauthorised possession of dangerous drugs and possession of cocaine and heroin in circumstances denoting that they were not exclusively for his personal use.

On 20 December 2024, the man was charged with driving without a car license and car insurance, and breaking bail conditions given by a previous Court, among other things. The defence did not contest the validity of the arrest.

Formosa pleaded guilty, however the defence requested the release of the man’s arrest, to which the prosecution did not object. Subsequently, the Court acceded to such a request and explained the accused’s conditions of his release, namely that he must sign a bail book, a €2,000 deposit and a €20,000 personal guarantee, among other things.

Inspector James Mallia for the Commissioner of Police led the prosecution

Lawyers Franco Debono and Adriana Zammit assisted the accused