A Gozo man has been acquitted of charges in the connection of the illegal storage and possession of fireworks, after the Court said it was not legitimately in a position to declare the man guilty, due to certain deficiencies in the prosecution's case.
The police had received telephone call, in which it was alleged that explosive were inside a white truck in the basement of an apartment building in Xaghra, Gozo. On March 22, 2008, the police went on site and found a white Ford Iveco. The truck's shutter was open and accessible to everyone. A small amount of gunpowder and other materials used for fireworks were found. The material was transported by the police to the Rabat police station.
The truck was registered under the accused's name, and is property of MPJ Ltd. From the very beginning, the accused, 48-year-old Joseph Spiteri from Xaghra denied that the explosives were his, and that he laid eyes on them for the first time at the Rabat station, Gozo.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud, in his judgement, said that when the information reached the police that fireworks were in the truck, the police should have sealed off the area, contacted the person who owned the property and identified the truck's owner, informing him to be present during the search. This did not happen, the Court said.
The police also had to leave anything that was found on the scene until explosive experts arrive and conduct their evaluations, the Magistrate explained. He criticised police for removing the material and taking it to the depot before this occurred.
When information reached the police that illegal fireworks were involved, they should have conducted surveillance of the area to see if the said area is frequented by anyone, in order to catch a person committing such illegalities in the act, the magistrate said.
The court's competence is to analyse the evidence brought before it, and then ask whether the prosecution proved their case according to law.
The same truck was often lent to Xaghra fireworks enthusiasts during feasts and was used as a store, however this truck was returned after it was no longer needed, Magistrate Joe Mifsud noted. The police did not investigate whether this truck, that was garaged and not used, contained material belonging to third persons months earlier, he said.
According to Major Jeffrey Curmi, today Head of the AFM, the amount of material found was very small, and if all used would not be enough to make a single firework, and this is why it was indicated that this truck was not used for fireworks to be created inside.
The Court, after taking all this into consideration, was not in a position to legitimately declare the defendant guilty according to law.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/1Sj2eGb
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