The accomplice who collaborated with Maltese Police in a controlled delivery which eventually led to the arrest of Ikechukwu Stephen Egbo, the Nigerian national who is currently facing trial by jury, was called to testify before the courts.
Attila Somlyai, a 30-year-old man from Romania, recalled how when he landed in Malta for the second time with capsules filled with drugs inside his body, he was met by the same person, Egbo, whom he identified in court.
The latter stands charged with the conspiracy to traffic cocaine. The 38-year-old Nigerian national was arrested on 27 November 2010 after a controlled delivery operation in Sliema.
Called to testify today, Somlyai told the court he had decided to take up the job of delivering drugs because he needed the money. He told the jurors that he was abandoned in a train station in Romania age three, and has been living in an orphanage throughout all of his childhood.
Somlyai arrived in Malta for the first time in October 2010, a month before the arrest of Egbo.The first time he was offered the job, he did not accept it. But then he took up the job because he needed the money. Somlyai said that there was a contact number but not name who gave him all the information. He was told to go to Roma Hotel in Sliema and wait. The room was not booked and had to make the reservation himself.
When asked by the prosecution who the contact person was, Somlyai said that he did not know his name, but had saved him on his phone as 'nigger'. He only knew that the 'boss' was a Nigerian national who had also paid a trip from Romania to Amsterdam where he was shown how to swallow the capsules with water.
The first time he arrived in Malta, the witness had managed to smuggle 28 capsules in his stomach. Similarly to what would happen a month later, the instructions remained the same - to head to the hotel in Sliema and waited for two Nigerian nationals to arrive.
In the hotel, the witness was given some €600 as payment for the delivery. When asked by the court of magistrates back in 2010, he said he was promised a payment of €15 for each capsule. The route was always the same, from Romania to Amsterdam and then to Malta, directly to Roma hotel. In all, Attila had brought drugs to Malta twice.
In November, when the smuggling was caught by the police, the witness was travelling to Malta from Germany. He was caught transporting drugs in his stomach, 60 capsules in all. Somlyai did not know what the drugs were, but he recalled it was white powder.
He said he was promised someone would come to pay him. The prosecution asked who sent him to Malta. The witness said he only knew he was Nigerian, but did not know his name, but the man who arranged for this delivery could speak his language.
When he landed, they sent him to the hospital for an X-RAY and doctors confirmed that he had something in his stomach. He then gave all the information to the police, on where he had to go and who was going to wait for him. Eventually, growing reassured by the police, the witness felt he could inform them of the October delivery.
Once in the hotel, and now accompanied by the police to help them carry out the controlled delivery, the witness called 'the boss' in Holland. He was told a person would be waiting outside on a bench very close to the sea. Once out of the hotel, the witness saw a man who stood up and acknowledged his presence with a nod with head. The witness said he recognised the man who, in October, had come for the drugs with a car. He started to follow the accused as he walked into a super market. The man was observed going round the supermarket and then left and started to run, according to the accused.
The defence also noted that if he was really walking closely, "right next" to the accused, he should have been seen in the CCTV footage of the supermarket which was also shown in court.
'The boss' had given him a number of sim cards and a mobile phone. The police had also found a Western Union receipt of some €2,000 sent for the witness. It was 'the boss' who sent him the money.
According to a court expert, the substance, which was began its journey to Malta in the Netherlands, held 38% purity and a street value of 44,266 euro.
The case continues.