Airport passengers taken to court for carrying undeclared ammunition, entering restricted area

Two travellers were handed separate sentences on Monday after one was found carrying undeclared ammunition at Malta International Airport and another entered a restricted zone following his removal from a flight.

A passenger who had been offloaded from a flight and later found in a restricted zone at Malta International Airport was conditionally discharged, while a second traveller received a suspended sentence for carrying undeclared ammunition, the Court of Magistrates ruled on Monday.

The court first heard the case of 36-year-old Daniel Ackom, a Ghanaian national holding an Italian residence permit. Ackom had been removed from a flight on 16 November after problems arose regarding his baggage size. The court was told that, in an attempt to comply with airline requirements, he had put on several items of clothing, and he appeared in court wearing multiple layers.

According to the prosecution, Ackom had repeatedly returned to an external pavement behind an airport gate, an area designated as a restricted zone under the Aviation Security Act. Security personnel detained him and he was subsequently charged with entering the area without the required authorisation or pass.

Ackom pleaded guilty at an early stage. Taking into account the circumstances and his admission, the court granted him a conditional discharge for two years. Inspector Roxanne Tabone prosecuted.

In a separate case heard during the same sitting, the court dealt with the arrest of 66-year-old Salim Ali Mohammed Aloud, a Libyan national with no fixed address in Malta. Aloud had been presented under arrest after airport security detected four rounds of ammunition in his baggage during routine checks on 16 November.

He had been charged under the Firearms Act with possessing and importing ammunition without a licence. Defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi informed the court that the accused intended to plead guilty, while the prosecution stated that it was not seeking an effective custodial sentence.

After noting the admission, the court found Aloud guilty and imposed a five-month term of imprisonment, suspended for one year. It ordered the destruction of the ammunition and noted a police request for confiscation of related items.

Inspector Tabone also appeared for the prosecution in this case.