Colombian Jose Edgar Pena, who was last week found guilty and jailed for conspiring to traffic cocaine back in 2006, yesterday filed an appeal.

Pena was found guilty with six votes against three, jailed for 18 years and fined €20,000 after standing trial, which ended on Friday.

His co-accused, Panamian Domingo Navas, 33, was found unanimously not guilty by the jury.

Pena is requesting the Criminal Court of Appeal to revoke the jurors’ verdict and acquit him of every guilt and the sentence. Most of the evidence in the trial was based on hearsay, the appeal argued. The primary witness, Enrique Martinez Burgoa, had meanwhile testified that he had never discussed or dealt in drugs.

The appeal, presented by lawyer Joe Brincat, said that during cross examination, Burgoa had mentioned the word “nunca”, meaning, “no, never”. He went on to note that the court, presided by Mr Justice Michael Mallia, had been correct when telling the jurors in its address to put hearsay evidence aside.

Pena and Navas had been arrested after Burgoa was caught at the airport importing the drugs, which were enough to satisfy some 15,000 users and worth €133,000.

Burgoa had cooperated with the police and contacted the drug traffickers in Malta telling them to meet him at the Sliema Hotel room to pick up the drugs. They were arrested there and then.

Burgoa had admitted that he conspired to import and traffic drugs and is currently serving a 12-year sentence. Yanez Pinon Miguel Angel had also pleaded guilty for his involvement in the case and was jailed for 13 years.