An Italian man who was caught with 32kg of cannabis and €42,000 in cash money last Thursday in Hamrun told police that he had been asked to transport the substance from Sicily against payment of €1,000.

Police had caught the man after a search of his vehicle. He also told officers that the agreement with the two Maltese men was made some 20 days prior to his arrest at a fast food establishment in Sliema.

Taking the witness stand today, prosecuting inspector Kevin Pulis hailing from the police Drug Squad explained the events surrounding the Italian man’s arrest. The compilation of evidence began to be heard before Magistrate Neville Camilleri against Salvatore Coco, 48, Michael Aquilina, 45 from Mosta and Gordon Schembri, 31 from Floriana.

Aquilina and Schembri were jointly arraigned while Coco was separately charged. The three men were charged in court over the 30kg drug bust which took place on St Vincent Street, Hamrun, on 11 January.

Coco is being charged with conspiring to traffic the cannabis, importation, possession in circumstances denoting that it was not for his personal use and money laundering.

Aquilina and Schmebri are jointly charged with conspiring to traffic the cannabis, importation, complicity and money laundering.

In addition, Aquilina is also charged with being of breaching conditions of bail while Schembri is charged with relapsing.

Aquilina was out on bail after police caught him entering Ghadira bay via boat with an Italian woman and 70kg of suspected cannabis in September 2017.

Inspector Pulis told the court how the authorities were informed that a possible drug trafficking operation was to take place between the three men. As a result, he instructed officers to patrol the area of Hamrun, more precisely the area surrounding St Vincent Street.

At around 2pm, the inspector gave instructions for officers to carry out a raid on the street in question, find the three men and carry out a search for the drugs that were to be trafficked.

While on the scene, officers spotted Michael Aquilina driving a BMW car exiting a complex filled with garages. He was immediately stopped, and the police proceeded to enter the garage complex. Schembri was spotted next to a Fiat car with Italian number plates, belonging to Salvatore Coco.

Police spotted the back door of the Fiat open, while on the driver’s seat there appeared to be two bags filled with money. Police, therefore, became suspicious that the hidden drugs could be hidden in the vicinity.

Pulis told the court that a search of the car was carried out, where a hidden compartment which runs on a hydrolic system was also found. Inside the compartment, it was apparent that the cannabis was stashed there, the court heard.

In addition, a white remote was found which Coco explained that belonged to him for the purposes of opening up his garages in Sicily.

Coco told the police that the drugs found belonged to him.

Police continued to search the two Maltese men and found mobiles, documents and keys in the BMW. As soon as all the drugs were found, the three men were informed that they had been placed under arrest.

Coco told Pulis that he did not want to consult a lawyer, but that he wanted to deliver a sworn statement before the on-duty magistrate, Francesco Depasquale.

In his statement, Coco explained how he had met with Aquilina and Schembri 20 days before the police search, where they agreed to traffic the drugs.

He told officers that he does not know where the cannabis originated from, but that he was tasked with stopping at the port of Catania, carry the drugs to Pozzallo and then make his way to Malta. He was to meet the Maltese men at the same fast food establishment where they agreed on the deal and the men were to give him €1,000.

Asked about the €42,000 found in his car, Coco said that Schembri had thrown the bag with the money in his Fiat, and that he does not know what they were for as the police had turned up to raid the place.

Schembri and Aquilina did not answer any questions posed to them by the police, while the case continues this Thursday.

The Prosecution is being led by Pulis while lawyer Kathleen Grima is representing Aquilina and Schembri. Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curan is appearing for Salvatore Coco.