A 55-year-old man from Gzira was sentenced to three and a half years in jail and fined Lm1,200 after a court found him guilty of trafficking and possession of heroin.

Emmanuele Magro was found guilty of trafficking and possession of heroin in circumstances indicating that it was not for his own personal use on 16 January 2005 and the year before in Gzira.

He was also found guilty of the charges of possession of cannabis resin and committing these crimes within 100 metres of a school.

Magro was also found guilty of relapsing and committing a crime within the operative period of two previous court sentences.

The court, presided over by magistrate Lawrence Quintano, heard how Magro was stopped by police officers outside his residence on 16 January 2005 in Gzira.

He informed them that he had drugs and showed them where he kept them – in a bedside table next to a mattress in his bedroom.

The police had found 29 sachets of heroin and a piece of cannabis resin wrapped in foil.

In handing down his judgment, magistrate Quintano noted Magro’s criminal record and the quantity and purity of the drugs.

As a result, the court jailed Magro for three and a half years and fined him Lm1,200. Inspector Nezren Grixti prosecuted.