Court raises paltry €600 fine by €9,000 on appeal

The Court of Appeal raised a €600 fine for the illegal export of shotgun cartridges to €9,000, after the Attorney General appealed the first sentence and reached an agreement between both parties before judgement was passed.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia added the €9,000 to the original €600 fine. A two-year jail term suspended for two years, was also confirmed.

Mark Agius had been convicted of attempting to export 100,000 shotgun cartridges to Libya in August 2011, after Customs officers received an anonymous tip-off. The officers later found a pallet ready for loading, with boxes containing 12-gauge cartridges and packed with Red Bull cans at a Handaq warehouse.

Investigators found that the cartridges were worth €38,896.

The magistrates' court originally fined Agius €600 and convicted him two years in jail, suspended for two years. The Attorney General appealed for an additional €9,000 fine for breaching Customs legal notices. Both prosecution and defence agreed on the fine, but this was overlooked by the magistrate.

Upholding the appeal, Justice Michael Mallia delivered the new sentence.