30-year-old Swieqi resident Michael Vella was granted bail today, after being charged in fourt and accused of being in possession of drugs, a gun, bullets and a police bullet-proof vest.
Vella was driving his car in Marsa on Monday when police stopped him as he was acting in a suspicious manner. A search of the car occurred, and three packets of drugs, suspected to be MDMA, a knife and six bullets were found.
The police proceeded to search the accused’s home, where they found four loaded magazines holding around 40 bullets, a pistol and a police bullet-proof vest. Vella was charged with holding a gun without a licence, being in possession of psychotropic medicine and on charges related to having the police bullet-proof vest.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer, Dr Kathleen Grima requested bail, however the prosecution, led by Inspector Daryl Borg, objected. He said the police were still investigating how the accused got his hands on the police vest.
Bail was granted against a €3,000 deposit and a €1,000 personal guarantee, which the accused’s father took responsibility for.