A man was cleared of heroin possession charges after the prosecution failed to bring present enough evidence in court.

In 2009, 42-year-old Emanuel Mizzi, resident in Zabbar, was charged with being in possession of heroin and relapsing.

On the morning of 4 September 2009, the police received an anonymous call informing them that a man was lying on the ground next to the bank in Zabbar.

When the police arrived on scene, they found Mr Mizzi lying on the ground. Next to him, was a packet of cigarettes - containing a small packet with brown powder, a  5 Euro note, a piece of tissue and a lotto ticket. The man was taken to Zabbar's police station and a doctor was called in to see him, out of suspect of an overdose.

The doctor gave the man two doses of antidote, Naloxdane, medication usually given for suspect of overdose, until the ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.

Before being taken to hospital, one of the police officers went to hand in a receipt of the objects taken from Mr Mizzi, but while doing so, the man grabbed the small packet of powder and swallowed it whole.

Asked what the contents of the brown powder were, the man replied it was a 100mg tablet, saying he did not know its exact name. He said that it was not heroin, and that he was undergoing detox treatment at Mount Carmel and he had been clean for several months.

The court ruled that the prosecution failed to bring enough evidence to prove that the man was in possession of heroin - and failed to bring evidence from doctors on what led the man to the condition he was found in at Zabbar.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras cleared the man of all charges.

Lawyer Mark Busuttil represented the accused, while Inspector Robert Said Sarreo led the prosecution.