A 29-year-old man from Qormi was jailed for two years yesterday after he pleaded guilty to trafficking and possession of cannabis resin.
Alex Spiteri admitted trafficking and possession of cannabis resin and committing a crime within 100 metres of an area frequented by young people.
Before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, Spiteri pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis resin on 15 March 2005 and during the previous 10 years.
Prosecuting inspector Dennis Theuma told the court that on 15 March 2005, at around 7am, he was informed that the drug squad had arrested a person in Qormi.
Members of the drug squad told the court that they saw Spiteri drive from the Tal-Handaq area to a garage in a basement in Qormi.
Inspector Theuma said that members of the squad were informed that Spiteri had to buy drugs from an unknown person in the industrial area of Tal-Handaq, on the outskirts of Qormi.
In their testimony, other police officers said they followed Spiteri and found two bars of cannabis resin, wrapped in black tape, under the driver’s seat.
Spiteri told the court that he was a construction worker and was married with a nine-year-old boy.
He told the court that he started smoking cannabis when he was 14. However, he said that he was trying to reduce the habit and smoked about three a day, spending about Lm40 a week.
In another hearing, Insp. Theuma told the court that Spiteri had cooperated fully with the police but had not given the name of the person from he had bought the drugs.
Handing down her judgement, magistrate Scerri Herrera said that the court noted the man’s genuine effort and that he should be helped to reintegrate in
society.
However, since Spiteri did not reveal the name of the man from whom he bought the cannabis resin, the court could not grant him the minimum punishment as stated in Article 29 in Chapter 101.
Magistrate Scerri Herrera jailed Spiteri for two years and ordered him to pay a total of Lm80.38 in court expenses within three months.
Police Inspector Dennis Theuma prosecuted.