A Polish man has been jailed for 9 and half years after he admitted to cocaine trafficking charges to avoid a trial by jury.

25-year-old Patryk Henryk Stawicki was accused of importing nearly a kilogramme of cocaine in March two years ago.

Stawicki was arrested upon his arrival at Malta International Airport by Drugs Squad and Customs officials, after he was found to be carrying 100 capsules of cocaine amounting to 957 grams of the substance.

In sentencing the accused, Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti took into account his early guilty plea, as well as the fact that prosecution and defence had agreed on the punishment.

Aside from the prison sentence, the court also imposed a €23,000 fine on Stawicki and ordered the confiscation of all his assets.