Man remanded in custody over aggravated cocaine possession

A man from Pieta has been remanded in custody on charges of aggravated cocaine possession.

47-year-old Jason Zammit was arraigned before magistrate Leonard Caruana on Thursday afternoon, accused of the possession of cocaine in circumstances which indicated that it was not intended for personal use, as well as simple possession of cocaine and heroin.

He was also accused of breaching bail conditions and recidivism, as well as having committed these offences less than 100 metres away from a school or club.

The prosecution requested a freezing order over all assets belonging to the defendant.

Inspector Jonathan Pace told the court that on the basis of several reports and intelligence gathered over the span of several months, including information about a planned drug deal, he and a fellow police officer had staked out the Pieta residence where Jason Zammit lived with his mother.

Police officers surrounded the man's residence. When Zammit appeared carrying a bag, the inspector had introduced himself to the suspect, who then tried to run away, but was apprehended within minutes, after a scuffle. The bag he was carrying was found to contain approximately 1kg of cocaine. Heroin and related paraphernalia were also found during a subsequent search at his place of residence, together with a "significant" sum in cash.

Police estimated the street value of the seized drugs to be €60,000. 

At the time of his arrest, the police had noted cuts on Zammit’s wrist, the inspector said when cross-examined by lawyer Matthew Xuereb. Zammit had told the police they had been inflicted with a knife during an altercation with a third party a few days before. That incident is still being investigated, the court was told.

Zammit, who nodded off several times during his arraignment, told the court that he was not currently employed and pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The court upheld the request to issue a freezing order.

His defence lawyer did not request bail at this stage, but asked the court to order that the man’s clothing be taken into evidence because of the bloodstains clearly visible on it.

He also asked the court to make a recommendation to the prison director that would ensure the defendant received any medical treatment required, as well as to order the Commissioner of Police to investigate the incident alleged to have led to the man’s injuries - which he said was a break-in at his home.

The court upheld these requests, ordering that the defendant receive all physical and mental medical treatment deemed necessary.

Zammit's arraignment is far from being his first brush with the law, with previous convictions for involuntary homicide, heroin possession and multiple convictions for aggravated theft. In 2015, while he was serving a 12 year sentence for drug trafficking, Zammit was incarcerated for an additional two months for smuggling 68 pills of DHC. a heroin substitute, into prison by concealing them inside his rectum. His latest arraignment before today's had been in January this year, following the discovery of 100g of cocaine, 60g of heroin, and 500ml of methadone, as well as €30,000 in cash at his residence.