Man pleads guilty to possession of contraband cigarettes

Tesfaye Yirgu Zakrge, 46, an Ethiopian national living in St Julian’s, was arraigned this morning before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, on accusations of having been in possession of contraband cigarettes.

The contraband, which was valued at almost €1,300 – and almost €7,500 in unpaid excise duty, more than €740 in import duty and more than €1,700 in VAT – was found after a raid by customs officials.

The accused, who pleaded guilty, had cooperated fully, the police said.

The court ordered the accused to be released on bail against a personal guarantee of €8,000.

It also ordered that he sign-in at Msida police station every day between 7am-11pm, and be home no later than 12pm.

The court will reconvene on Tuesday for sentence to be delivered.