A 34-year-old man who initially had been caught handing over a suspicious brown package to his wife in 2007 - which it turned out was a kilo of cocaine - has been jailed for 11 years and fined €30,000 after he admitted to drug trafficking and money laundering charges. His admission avoided him facing a trial by jury.

A search at his home of Stiano Agius of Qormi had yielded more drugs, amounting to 1.153 grammes with a street value of €87,600. During the police search, Lm33,000 in cash in batches of Lm1,000 were also found.

Agius had told police that it was not the first time that he kept the drugs at his residence and that he had an agreement with a foreign national to keep the drugs at his home and in turn he (Agius) would be paid Lm1,000 for the service.

In 2004, a court of Appeal had found Agius guilty for various crimes during a case ‘The Police vs Herman McKay and Stiano Agius’.

Agius’ wife, Australia-born Eleanor Tracy, 37, did not admit to the charges and is to face a trial by jury.

Inspector Theuma had explained to the court that before the find, the police received confidential information about possible drug trafficking from a residence in Qormi.

He said he ordered round-the-clock surveillance and police officers stationed outside the house observed Mr Agius arrive in a BMW X5. Seconds later Ms Agius emerged from the house, he gave her a package that had several turns of brown tape and drove off.

The following day, after obtaining a search warrant from the inquiring magistrate, the Drug Squad police raided the house and searched it from top to bottom.

Besides the drugs and batches of cash, the police also found paraphernalia related to drug trafficking including electronic weighing scales, as well as a jar containing ammunition and a fake €10 note. Lawyer Franco Debono defended the accused. During the hearing, Dr Debono presented a bargaining plea to the court after his client admitted to the charges.