Court orders extradition of businessman implicated in Genoa smuggling ring

Appeals Court orders the extradition of Philip Mifsud over the smuggling of 18 tonnes of contraband cigarettes. 

File photo: Maltese businessman Philip Mifsud is wanted in Italy over the smuggling of 18 tonnes of contraband cigarettes
File photo: Maltese businessman Philip Mifsud is wanted in Italy over the smuggling of 18 tonnes of contraband cigarettes

Mr Justice Michael Mallia has this afternoon ordered the extradition of a Maltese businessman wanted implicated in the smuggling of contraband cigarettes in Genoa, accepting Italy’s extradition requirement.

Philip Mifsud, 59, is wanted in Italy over the smuggling of 18,250 kilos of contraband cigarettes in Genoa. Fellow businessmen Francis Galea and Michael Spiteri had previously been extradited also.  

In November 2013, an Appeals court had overturned a Court of Magistrates’ decision to order the extradition of the three men, arguing that since Italy never formally charged them with anything, the requirement of actually charging someone was not satisfied.

However, the following day, the government amended the Extradition Law to read that a person can be surrendered when wanted “for the purposes of continuity of criminal prosecution for the commission of an offence specified in the warrant”.

In Italy, the investigation phase is considered part of the judicial process and can last for up to two years before a person is actually accused. But a person arrested in Malta has to be arraigned within 48 hours or be released.

Presiding over an appeals court this afternoon, Mr Justice Michael Mallia ordered the extradition of Philip Mifsud.

Deputy Attorney General Donatella Frendo Dimech prosecuted while Lawyers Joe Giglio and Stephen Tonna Lowell represented Mifsud.