A security officer who was working at Gozo General Hospital despite having a drug trafficking conviction in France has been removed from his post following revelations published earlier this year.According to The Shift, Chris Mizzi, better known as “Il-Lilly”, was dismissed after the newsroom reported in April that he had been recruited by private security company Signal 8 despite his recent conviction abroad.Mizzi had reportedly been assigned to Gozo General Hospital under Signal 8’s government contract to provide security services.The Shift also reports that Signal 8 is now facing criminal proceedings after police allegedly found that Mizzi did not hold the licence required by law to work as a private security officer in Malta.Under Maltese law, security guards must be licensed by the police, with licences generally refused to people who have criminal convictions, including convictions handed down by foreign courts.Mizzi was convicted by a French court alongside two other Gozitan men after authorities dismantled a network trafficking nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, across ski resorts in the Savoie region.French investigators seized more than 6,000 nitrous oxide canisters, with an estimated street value of €340,000. The three men received suspended prison sentences and were banned from entering France for five years.Despite that conviction, Mizzi was later employed by Signal 8 and assigned to the hospital’s Short Stay Ward, an area that caters for vulnerable patients, including people struggling with substance abuse.Following The Shift’s investigation, hospital management reportedly acted quickly to remove Mizzi from the premises.The publication also reports that several hospital employees have since been called to testify as part of the ongoing court proceedings against Signal 8 over the alleged deployment of an unlicensed security officer.What do you make of this?•