A man was jailed for 10 years and fined €30,000 yesterday, after he pleaded guilty to dealing in cocaine. Jose Luis Lugo Del Rosario, from the Dominican Republic, was due to stand trial on Monday, but he admitted to the charges brought against him.

On 12 May 2009, the Drug Squad received a tip-off that someone staying at Metropole Hotel in Sliema had imported a substantial amount of drugs from Holland.

They had searched Room 504, and found a number of plastic bags containing what were suspected to be drug capsules.

The police investigation had found that the man had obeyed orders to swallow 100 capsules, each containing about 10 grammes of cocaine, and made his way to Malta on a flight from Holland on 9 May 2009.

The man imported a total of 958.11 grammes of cocaine, which had a level of purity of 23.21 per cent and a street value estimated at €72,816.

Defence counsel Roberto Montalto told the court that the man was sick and he had started dealing in drugs to fund the treatment he required.

Handing down judgement yesterday, the court took into consideration the fact that the man had filed an early guilty plea.

At the same time, the court also noted the drugs’ potential damage to Maltese society, particularly to the most vulnerable – young people, “who are under siege” by traffickers dealing in all sorts of drugs from every part of the world, to make money immorally, to the detriment of the health and sometimes even lives of victims.

The court was presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono.