Bird smuggler who led police, army on land and sea chase jailed

A 46-year-old man who tried to smuggle thousands of protected birds and tortoises from Tunisia ten years ago has been jailed for two years after being found guilty of the charges.

During the early hours of March 14, 2004, the accused, Publius Zammit, 46, of Msida, and his partner in crime were arrested by AFM personnel after a chase at sea and on land.

The court heard how police and the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) had received a tip-off about a contraband operation involving the accused smuggling hundreds of birds from Tunisia into Malta.

AFM personnel were subsequently deployed to further investigate the suspicions.

An army vessel intercepted the accused’s power boat ‘Little Child’ between Malta and Gozo. Upon seeing the army boat, the accused sped off and escaped. AFM vessels lost sight of the power boat but then tracked the boat’s movement on radar.

The power boat was then intercepted at Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo. The AFM then switched their search light on, told them who they were, and ordered them to stop. However, the accused again managed to speed off – almost crashing into the AFM vessel in the process.

The boat’s movement was later tracked to Gnejna. Despite being ordered to stop once again, Zammit and his partner disembarked and ran off. A chase then ensued, and AFM personnel also fired up to ten warning shots in the air and the ground.

Some of the warning shots hit Zammit’s partner, who was then transported to hospital and certified to be suffering from gunshots to his legs and shoulders. Zammit on the other hand was apprehended by police after surrendering.

A search at Xatt l-Ahmar discovered 180 sealed boxes, cages and crates packed 4126 green finches, 72 linnets, two long-headed buzzards, and 168 tortoises. Many of the birds were found alive but others, including the buzzards, were dead.

A court later ordered that the dead birds be destroyed and ordered the release of the live birds.

Scene of the crime officers and divers also found a satellite phone, a torch, as well as a GPS. A search in the accused’s car had yielded two balaclavas.

On the power boat, police discovered birdfeed and feathers which appeared to belong to the birds found on the beach.

In his testimony, Zammit denied that he was involved in contraband and smuggling, arguing that on the day of the incident, he was simply driving his boat around.

Asked why he had sped off from the AFM vessel, Zammit told the court that he did not recognise it as an army vessel, and that he sped off because he feared that he would be harmed. He also said that he only realised that the boats belonged to the AFM after he was apprehended by police.

Zammit’s plea was however dismissed by the court.

In its decree, the court presided by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera found the man guilty of disobeying police orders, of failing to declare the protected birds, and of illegal importation of protected birds.

Taking into account the accused’s voluminous criminal record, Magistrate Scerri Herrera handed the man a two-and-a-half year imprisonment term. The court also ordered that the power boat is confiscated.

Inspector Michael Mallia prosecuted.