NEW YORK: A Birkirkara man has been arraigned in connection to the large cigarette smuggling case earlier this year.
Patrick Pace, 49 from Birkirkara, pleaded not guilty to charges relating to being an accomplice in the theft of 1050 master case cigarettes containing 10,500,000 cigarettes and corrupting an official.
In September, in a separate court case, the court ruled that there’s enough evidence to place four Freeport workers, accused of stealing the shipping container loaded with contraband cigarettes under a bill of indictment. The four are pleading not guilty to charges relating to the theft of a shipping container holding 10.5 million cigarettes worth a total of €304,500 and of attempting to deprive the government of nearly €2 million in VAT, import duty and other taxes. Calleja alone, who works as a security guard at the Freeport, is also charged with committing a crime which he was duty-bound to prevent.
The cigarettes have a value of €304,500 and have an excise duty worth €1.6 million, and importation tax and VAT worth €175,000 and €386,000 respectively.
Mr Pace is also accused with being in possession of 11 boxes of cigarettes containing 10,000 cigarettes on the night between September 2, 3. The police had searched a Mazda Bongo van where the cigarettes were found. The packets did not have excise duty paid. Each box was worth €3,190.
The merchandise in question arrived in Malta on 24 July.
He requested and was granted bail against a €1,000 deposit and a €4,000 personal guarantee. His assets were also frozen.
