A man who signed for a 13-kilo package of cannabis grass delivered to his home by a police officer disguised as a delivery man was denied bail upon arraignment.
Goran Dimovski, a 38-year old Macedonian delivery man living at Marsascala, was escorted to court on Friday afternoon, pleading not guilty to alleged involvement in a conspiracy to import the drug into Malta.
Prosecuting Inspector Marshal Mallia explained that customs officials intercepted a suspicious parcel on April 20, mailed to a Marsascala address.
When checked, that package was found to contain 13 kilos of cannabis grass.
Police set up a controlled delivery and an officer, dressed as a delivery man, handed over the parcel to the addressee at his Marsascala home.
No sooner did the man sign the receipt and just as he was about to go back indoors, four other police officers arrested the suspect.
Under questioning, he later explained that he was meant to get €1,000 for taking delivery of the parcel and then hand it over to a third party whose identity, however, he did not know.
The accused pleaded not guilty to conspiring and importation of the drug.
His lawyer, Matthew Xuereb, pointed out that the accused had been in...