Man charged after half a kilo of cannabis found on car seat

A Qormi resident has been remanded in custody this morning after he was charged in court with aggravated possession of cannabis and dangerous driving whilst trying to escape from the police.  

42-year-old Pierre Cremona was arrainged by Inspector Gabriel Micallef before Magistrate Claire-Louise Stafrace Zammit this morning and charged with being in possession of half a kilogramme of cannabis.

It appears that after the drugs had been spotted on the front seat of the accused’s car, Cremona had rammed an undercover police car, which was blocking his exit, with his vehicle.

He was also charged with driving a motor vehicle in a reckless and dangerous manner, driving without an insurance policy or road licence and relapsing and committing all of these offences within 100m of a place where young people congregate.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri entered a plea of not guilty on Cremona’s behalf and requested bail.

The prosecution objected to bail, pointing out that the charges are of a serious nature and that he was also being charged with breach of bail, but Debono argued the breach of bail would only apply if he were to be found guilty of the charges, adding that there were no witnesses to testify.

Bail was not granted, nonetheless.

Cremona is well known to the police, having been charged in 2014 after cocaine and unlicenced firearms were found at his place of residence.

He had also narrowly escaped death when a bomb placed outside his boathouse in Armier in 2013 exploded. Cremona emerged unhurt because he and a friend had dashed to safety after they noticed a small box wired to a mobile phone, placed in an unused oven on the terrace of the building.