Three men to go to trial for alleged 2008 drug trafficking conspiracy

Three men are set to go on trial for allegedly conspiring to traffick drugs 16 years ago.

Rio Micallef, David Tabone, and Darren James Vella are accused of multiple counts of drug trafficking. They all deny their charges.

The prosecution alleges that the men had planned for one of the suspects to procure ecstasy pills, which his alleged partners would subsequently sell. Another of the accused was to provide the funds for the drugs.

In the compilation of evidence, the court had heard that officers had been monitoring their activities in the lead-up to their arrest on 15 September, 2008.

Tabone was seen leaving his home and driving to McDonald's in Birkirkara, where he met Vella. They then proceeded to a location where Micallef, who operated a snack bar near Fleur-de-Lys, joined them.

Micallef was observed leaving his shop and driving while the other accused followed behind. They parked their vehicles some distance apart, after which two of them approached a garage. Tabone was allegedly carrying a black bag.

When Micallef noticed the presence of law enforcement, he reportedly crouched down and tossed a white bag under a parked van before attempting to escape. However, he was arrested alongside Tabone.

Upon inspecting the bag, police allegedly found 1,940 ecstasy pills worth around €18,600. Additionally, officers confiscated €9,330 in cash from the black bag and a set of electronic weighing scales that contained traces of drugs.

In 2019, the Criminal Court of Appeal ruled that statements made by the accused to the police could not be used as evidence since they had not been provided a lawyer at the time of their questioning.

The trial was initially set to commence last September, but had to be halted due to an issue with the jury selection. A reserve juror remained in the courtroom while legal arguments were being discussed, despite the judge’s instructions for all potential jurors to leave.

Upon being questioned, the juror claimed he had been distracted while playing a mobile game and had not been paying attention to the proceedings. 

The case is being heard by Madam Justice Edwina Grima

Prosecutors Kevin Valletta, Godwin Cini, and Danica Vella are representing the Attorney General’s Office.

David Tabone is being defended by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri, while José Herrera and Alex Scerri Herrera are representing Rio Micallef. Darren James Vella is being assisted by lawyers Michael Sciriha and Matthew Xuereb.