Roderick Vella, 25 from Tarxien was given an eight-month jail term after a police search discovered heroin sachets hidden in his pet shop in Birzebbugia in September 2000.

The amount of drugs found together with the paraphernalia indicated the heroin was not for his personal use.

Inspector Norbert Ciappara said Vella jumped into a car and drove off. Two police officers who were at the scene said he drove at a high speed and almost ran them over.

The accused told the court that he had a drug habit and bought a larger amount of drugs to save money.

He said he only paid Lm2 per gramme when he bought a large amount, compared to Lm10 when he only bought one gramme.

The court found it highly doubtful that the difference could be so great and said the fact the heroin was hidden and divided into sachets indicated he meant to traffic the drug.

He was therefore found guilty of possessing heroin with intent to traffic and also of driving recklessly. No evidence was provided to prove he assaulted the police officers in any way, so the court acquitted him of that charge.

When passing judgement, the court took the accused’s clean record into consideration. It also noted that he is currently following a residential programme with Sedqa and is being very cooperative.

Together with the jail term, Vella’s licence was revoked for a year. The court was presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera while inspector Norbert Ciappara prosecuted.