Three men who planned a revenge robbery following an incident involving one of them today were charged with possession of cannabis which they were caught carrying out of a warehouse in Luqa.

Luke Vella, 20, Kevin Joseph Azzopardi, 31, and Rennie Fava, 21 were arrested by police minutes after what lawyer Joseph Giglio described in court as a “revenge robbery”. The three went to an unused property to which Mr Dylan Azzopardi has access in Luqa to see whether they could find anything worth stealing after an incident between Vella and Azzopardi on 19 September 2015.

The three accused were arrested 20m from the warehouse when they were found in possession of 3.5kgs of cannabis resin which, according to Dr Giglio, they did not know they had just stolen. The lawyer said that the three saw what looked like a package that might contain money or gold and they ran away with it.

The original incident which sparked the ‘revenge’ plot involved Mr Azzopardi, 22, and his brother, Clayton Azzopardi, 27, who were charged with unlawfully apprehending Luke Vella against his will, assaulting him and seriously injuring him. Mr Vella is now blind from one eye following the incident.

The argument was said to have started over a sum of money owed to the Azzopardi brothers by a member of Vella's family. The men allegedly pulled Vella out of his car in Zabbar before binding him, beating him up, bundling him into their car, and then throwing him out. This case is still ongoing.

Dr Roberto Montalto, who appeared for Mr Rennie Fava, stated that Mr Fava was merely a getaway driver stating also that he was never in the house and we, in fact, sitting at the front of the car while both the others were at the back when they were caught.

Dr Franco Debono, who appeared for Kevin Joseph Zerafa, said all three should be granted bail since they cannot bear witness to or against each other thus leaving no grounds for the accused not to be granted bail.

Fava was also accused of damaging a police car after crashing into it when the police blocked their escape and committing a crime after having been given a suspended sentence on 17 October 2015. Zerafa was also charged with being a repeat offender as he also received a suspended sentence on 8 February 2012. Vella was charged with being a relapser after repeatedly being found guilty of a number of a charges in the past.

They were all granted bail under a €1,000 deposit and €4,000 personal guarantee.

Following this case, Dylan Azzopardi, was charged with aggravated possession of 500g of cannabis resin with the implication that it was not for personal use. It was also said in court by lawyer Dr Veronique Dalli that, even though an amount of cocaine was also found, it will all be absorbed into the main charge of aggravated possession.

Mr Azzopardi was also granted bail under the same conditions as the other three.

Both cases were presided by Magistrate Dr Audrey Demicoli.