Alleged drug trafficker Jordan Azzopardi's girlfriend accused of bribing witness
A request for bail by the woman’s legal team was denied by the court
Drug dealer Jordan Azzopardi’s girlfriend has been remanded in custody on charges of subornation - bribing a witness to lie under oath - after a witness in the compilation of evidence against her and Azzopardi yesterday told a court that she had tried to bribe him.
From the witness stand yesterday, Luke Vella alleged that Azzopardi’s girlfriend had engaged a certain “Mangion” to call him up and offer a €20,000 bribe to perjure himself - €10,000 up front and €10,000 afterwards. He was supposed to meet an intermediary who would tell him what to say, he claimed.
Several persons, including the woman herself, were allegedly sent by Azzopardi to offer him money not to testify, he said.
This morning the 31- year-old unemployed Madliena resident, who is not being named due to a court order in a separate case, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Her lawyer, Franco Debono, requested bail but this was objected to by the prosecution. The woman had already been granted bail and the accusations were “immensely serious,” said prosecuting inspector Mark Mercieca.
Debono made lengthy submissions, arguing that if the court were to find guilt on the charge of suborning a witness, it could not do so on breaching bail because the decision is still subject to appeal.
Magistrate Farrugia, however, was unmoved and bail was denied.
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