Man accused of assaulting police officers is denied bail

A court has denied bail to a man accused of having assaulted police officers arresting him for breaching bail and aggravated possession of cocaine and cannabis.

Benjamin Sanogo, 31, from Mali, who is listed as residing at a hotel in St Julians, was arraigned under arrest before Magistrate Joseph Gatt on Thursday.

Inspector Zachary Zammit charged Sanogo with possession of 16.44g of cocaine and 4.78g of cannabis, in circumstances which indicated the drugs were not intended for his personal use.

The man was also charged with threatening a police officer and slightly injuring him.

Inspector Zammit told the court that Sanogo had been on bail for an unrelated offence since November 2022 but had stopped signing his bail book. When police went to arrest him on 8 August, Sanogo had tried to flee on foot, at a point being seen discarding a bag containing the drugs. 

The defendant denied the charges. Lawyer Martin Farrugia, assisting Sanogo as legal aid counsel, did not request bail at this stage.