Nationalist MP Ryan Callus this evening slammed the sentence given to reformed drug trafficker William Agius, describing it as a missed opportunity for society at large.

Agius, a reformed drug trafficker who quit drugs more than a decade ago, was jailed for three years last December, after he pleaded guilty to a crime he committed 14 years ago. He was also ordered to pay a fine of €3000.

Addressing Parliament, Callus questioned the three-year prison sentence given to Agius saying it could have been a "win-win situation" for both Agius and society had he instead been given a sentence he suggested.

"Imagine he was instead given the sentence to speak to children in schools about his experience, he would have already spent nine days going around and probably would have influenced so many people with his story," said Callus. "Imagine how many more people he would have influenced had he spent ten years doing so, as he had suggested." "They would have grown in maturity, his experience recited would not have been the same as a teacher talking about drugs."

"We had the opportunity and we didn't take it," he said. "He could have given much more that way, rather than being locked in a cell. This country has a lot to reform in order to have a justice system which would benefit everyone."

Callus told the house that Agius was not allowed to continue his course at MCAST. "This is a problem," he said. "It is not constructive, it is not helping the person leave prison reformed."

William Agius was 18 years and battling a drug addiction when he was caught red handed in the middle of a drug deal near the Qormi primary school in 2004.