AFM drug heist: Thieves were at the scene for two hours unnoticed

That concludes today's sitting. We will have a full report on this page shortly.

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The prosecution requests a freezing order on Christa Gauci which was granted by the court.

The prosecution informs the court that Attard was the last witness on their list for the day.

The magistrate warns her that she is still under investigation, informing her that she has the right to silence and the right not to answer any questions.

Attard says she wishes to consult with a lawyer before she testifies and court will not be hearing her testimony today.

Dorianne Attard, Sean Attard’s mother is next on the witness stand.

Franco Debono notes that according to the rent book, the garage was rented to “Carlo Pace” and not Carlos Pace. The garage owner also states that he never. gave Pace a payment receipt.

Bonnici says that the garage key was given to a broker and passed on to Pace. When asked, he admits that he couldn’t know for sure if the broker had made extra copy of the key.

The garage owner further states he also had a copy of the key and so did his father.

Next on the witness stand is Bjorn Bonnici who owns the Żabbar garage in which some of the drugs were found. He explains that he is renting the garage in question to Carlos Pace. 

Dr. Godwin Sammut, a laboratory expert from the University of Malta testifies next. Upon being questioned by defence lawyer Franco Debono, he confirmed that the specified laboratory which conducted tests on the drugs stolen was not accredited.

Defence lawyer Amadeus Cachia is cross-examinig the witness.

Cachia asks Arnaud where in San Ġwann the 10 packages were found. He explains that the garbage bag was found hidden in an open field that anyone can enter.

The Assistant Commissioner says that Essesi was arrested after Carlos Pace, identifying them in court.  Essesi told Arnaud that he had put some of the stolen drugs in San Ġwann, pointing him towards it.

Arnaud says that police then found a garbage bags with 10 packages similar to those found on Carlos Pace, and it was confirmed that they were all the same packages stolen from the barracks.

Arnaud tells the court that the first to be arrested was Sean Attard at 1:00am on the Tuesday after the robbery. Attard’s mother was also arrested as the garage was renting the garage. 

Police then opened the garage and searched it while both Sean and his mother were present. Inside the garage were two Mercedes vehicles belonging to Sean and his mother. Arnaud explains that in Sean Attard’s car there were three shopping bags which were the same as those seen on CCTV footage were found. 

He adds that there 16 drug packages in first bag ,11 in the second and in eight in the third bag.

Arnaud tells the court that another two bags were found on when they searched Carlos Pace containing 16kg and 17kgs of the stolen drugs. 

Another five kilos were allegedly found on Stewart

Arnaud testifies that in the morning after the robbery, he was working to help with the investigation. He says that he noted a broken fence behind the container. He adds that the seals and locks were broken.

At first, it was noted that over 200kg of drugs was stolen. He explains that the thieves arrived at the barracks at around 12:15am and the robbery lasted until 2:30am.

Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud is testifying.

The sitting has resumed.

The sitting has been suspended and will resume at around 3:30pm.

The defence is raising questions about the different calculations of how much of the drugs were stolen.

Franco Debono alleges that there was a mistake in the calculations.

Police forensic expert Charlo Casha, who is in the witness stand says that he cannot say that there was a miscalculation, adding that it was not the fault of the forensic police.

When questioned by Franco Debono regarding the accreditation of the police's laboratory, Casha replied that it is accredited. Earlier the court heard how the University of Malta laboratory was not accredited.

Responding to more of Debono's questions, the witness states that no drugs were found in Christa Gauci's possession.

Debono claims that there is no link between the Toyota Belta allegedly used in the robbery and Sean Attard. He said that Sean Attard was seen coming out of the car. However, he asked the inspector to confirm if it was driven by Attard during the robbery. 

Debono asks the inspector to show evidence of Attard being present in the car at the time of theft. Inspector Mercieca says that flashlights allegedly used during the robbery showed DNA traces of Essesi and Carlos pace . 

The inspector confirms that Cleaven Pace and Christa Gauci stopped near the Kirkop roundabout and that Gauci was driving the Vitz.

He explains the people inside the car were not visible. However, he states that the moment the two persons got in car after theft, police had ample CCTV footage showing the route of the car leaving and finally entering the garage in Triq l-Indipendenza, Żebbug. 

He says Sean Attard was seen coming out of the car in the garage in Żebbug, hence he implied that Sean was at the wheels of the car while Pace and Essesi were in the container. 

Debono says the evidence to prove this needs to be unequivocal.

Inspector Mercieca says he did not inspect the drugs found in possession of the accused to identify whether the drugs were the same as those in the container. "That is up to the experts," he notes. However, he says that at a glance, they looked similar.

Debono asks the inspector to point out the security features of the Safi barracks, however, magistrate Rizzo ordered a ban on the publication of said security features.

The lawyer asks if any soldiers saw the heist being carried out, and if there were any soldiers actually guarding the container. The inspector said that there were three soldiers on duty that day but did not see the robbery.

The inspector explains that one of the soldiers was in charge of monitoring the security cameras.

The sitting has resumed.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono is cross-examining the witness.

The sitting has been suspended and will resume shortly.

The witness tells the court that Cleaven and Carlos Pace were seen taking the bags out of the car and placing them into the black Toyota Vits, which was allegedly being driven by Christa Gauci.

Data retrieved from Gauci’s mobile also confirmed that she was at the scene of the robbery for a full two hours, as well as throughout the entire journey from Safi to Żebbuġ.

Furthermore, the inspector says that forensic police continued their investigation and established that the total amount stolen from the AFM container was 132kg and not 226kg.

It was also explained that a number of video recordings were collected from roads between Safi and Żebbuġ, where Sean Attard’s garage was located.

As soon as the robbery ended, the black Toyota Vitz cleared the way for the grey vehicle to reach Attard’s garage in Ħaż Żebbuġ.

Investigators verified that a total of 226kg of drugs were missing from the container.

The witness explains that from various CCTV cameras, a Toyota Belta was seen around going into the Kirkop tunnels at around 11:00pm that night. A black Toyota Vitz was seen driving behind it. 

The witness says that Sean Attard, Carlos Pace, and Youssef Essesi were identified and that Essesi was seen tampering with number plates. He adds that Sean Attard opened a garage and bags were seen coming out of the Belta and placed in the Vitz. 

The witness explains that between 12:00am and 2:30am, CCTV footage showed people running inside the barracks.  He says that the thieves came out of a hole in the metal fence surrounding the barracks’ perimiter. 

In total the thieves went inside the container three times and were seen coming out with shopping bags in their hands. 

The witness states that the container was taken to the AFM barracks in Safi and that it was taken by a truck escorted by a police car. He explained that once the container arrived at the barracks, its locks and seals were checked once again. 

Inspector Mercieca tells the court that on 23 February at 3:40am, he received a call from AFM soldiers who were on call that night telling him that the container was opened and items were taken from it. 

He explained that when he arrived on the scene Rapid Intervention Unit officers and a forensic team were present. He tells the court that the seals had been opened. 

Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca takes the witness stand. He tells the court that on 17 June 2024 the Customs Department informed him that there was a suspicious container that entered the Freeport. He went to the Freeport and noticed certain containers that arrived from Morocco and were bound to Libya, carrying six induction ovens in it.

He says that inside them were blocks of cannabis resin. These had to be destroyed by an incinerator but due to damaged machinery, the drugs had to be stored once again in a container at the customs complex.

Moving on to the next sitting in connection to the AFM drug heist, accused Sean Attard, Christa Gauci, Carlos Pace, Cleaven Pace, and Youssef Essesi are all present in the room.

Lawyer Franco Debono informs the court that he might request that the results from the laboratory of the University of Malta be declared inadmissable. 

On the matter of Stewart's bail, magistrate Elaine Rizzo says that she will decide on the matter privately and communicate her decision to all parties.

That concludes today's witness testimonies for Stewart's case.

A nervous Stephen Sultana now takes the witness stand. He said that on the day of the incident, he was in his car behind a grey Toyota. Suddenly, he saw the Toyota reverse and crash into the front bumper of his van. Sultana says he honked the horn but the driver in front of him kept reversing. 

Once the driver in front of him exited the car, he saw the police handcuffing him. Sultana identified Stewart in the courtroom as the person who crashed into him. 

Sultana said he went to the Ħamrun police station to file a police report. He presented a report of the damages caused to his van. 

The court hears that there were €1,116 worth of damages which include damages to the front bumper.

Inspector Kurt Micallef is the next witness. He states that a certain Stephen Sultana came to police station and reported damages to his vehicle.

Sultana told the police at the station said he was parked and saw a commotion and a vehicle crashed into his. He said that the vehicle that crashed into him belonged to Stewart. 

The next witness - Inspector Clint Zahra - is briefing the court on Stewart's arrest.

Zahra says that when Stewart's vehicle was searched by two officers, the accused told them that he was in possession of illegal substances. He said that a white powder with a spoon was found, as well as blocks of cannabis resin.

The accused also claimed ownership of some €3,400 in cash and drugs found at his residence.

He tells the court that according to police intelligence, Liam Stewart was going to transport stolen drugs. When the police arrived in Ħamrun, they searched his vehicle and the witness went to the accused’s residence in Pieta and waited for his colleagues to arrive with the accused who was under arrest.

The Inspector tells the court that upon searching the residence, they found a bag with three packages of suspected drugs were found. 

The witness then went to Xgħajra in another residence and more drugs were found. The accused chose to exercise his right to silence. The defence reserved cross-examining this witness.

Next on the witness stand is Inspector Jeremy Scicluna Briffa.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono asks the witness where the laboratory where he operates is. Sammut replies that it is a lab in the University of Malta.

Debono asks if the laboratory is accredited, to which the witness responds that he cannot reply to this question. The magistrate ordered the witness to answer, as Scerri says that the laboratory is not accredited.

The witness says there are no directives in place that say that the lab in question needs to be accredited. He said that they are in the process of being accredited.

First on the witness stand is court expert Godwin Sammut, who is testifying against the accused.

The compilation of evidence has begun.

AG lawyer Maria Francesca Spiteri has just entered the courtroom.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono has also entered the room.

Liam Stewart has entered the courtroom, accompanied with two correctional officers.

Magistrate Elaine Rizzo has entered the courtroom.

Good morning. The compilation of evidence against the first of the four accused of stealing 200kg of cannabis resin from the AFM Safi barracks is set to begin shortly.