A 29-year-old Maltese fugitive suspected to be involved in drug trafficking, who was brought back to Malta yesterday following an extradition order weeks after he was arrested in Taormina, Sicily, was charged in court this morning. He pleaded not guilty. He was remanded in custody.

Jomic Calleja, a Gżira resident, was charged with trafficking cannabis and being in possession of a fire-arm and relapsing. Three European arrest warrants had been issued against him. He was also charged with discharging a fire-arm in Qormi which matches a Kalashnikov.

The court ordered the freezing of all his assets. The accused did not request bail.

The defence pointed out that his client suffers from bipolar disorder and therefore requested to be examined by a psychiatrist so that he is kept at Mt Carmel instead of the CCF. The police said that they were not aware that he suffered from this condition. The court in turn ordered the examination of the accused.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella presided over the case. Police Inspectors Herman Mula and James Grech prosecuted.

Earlier

The accused is believed to have had a number of court cases pending when he fled to Sicily towards the end of August 2014. He fled days before his appeal against a conviction he incurred for circulating counterfeit currency was set to be decided by the Gozo Courts.

But the police came to believe that he was involved in even more serious crimes after the Drug Squad seized 18kg of cannabis grass which were brought to Malta from Sicily: Mr Calleja was identified as one of the persons involved in the drug smuggling attempt.

In light of the pending court cases and his suspected involvement in drug trafficking, the police asked for the issuing of a European Arrest Warrant against Mr Calleja.

Consequently, Mr Calleja was arrested in Taormina a few weeks ago, and following the conclusion of extradition proceedings, police officers went to Sicily to escort the fugitive back home.