Kenneth Ellul, 40, of Tarxien today was jailed for nine months and fined €750 after he was found guilty of having cocaine and heroin in his possession, supplying drugs to a third person and relapsing. Past sentences Ellul received included charges related to drug possession, aggravated theft, voluntary damage, and breaching conditions of his sentences.

Police Inspector Johann J. Fenech explained to Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras that Ellul was arrested on 3 March 2009 by Drug Squad police. He said that while being interrogated at the CID yard, Ellul requested to be taken to the Detox Centre since he was “suffering from drug withdrawal symptoms”. The inspector immediately saw to this and left his office for a few minutes to look for a police officer to escort Ellul to the Detox Centre. A sergeant was inside the office busy preparing some paperwork at the time.

The inspector claimed that he left two sachets which contained the drugs and which were found on Ellul behind the computer tower in his (the inspector’s) office. When the inspector returned to his office, he found that the drugs had gone. When the accused was brought back to the depot from the Detox Centre, he was searched but the drugs were not found. One of the sachets was eventually found during a search which took place in the reception area of the CID yard. The other sachet was found empty floating in a toilet in the cell the accused was temporarily held in at the CID yard. Traces of white powder were also floating in the toilet bowl.

The accused then admitted to the inspector in a police statement that he had taken the drugs because he needed to reduce his drug withdrawal symptoms. The court asked the inspector to say whether the drugs which were presented in court were the same drugs which were found in the possession of the accused to which he replied in the affirmative after he said that this is what the accused had said in a written statement. When the accused was initially approached by the police before he was arrested, the accused was spotted trying to get rid of the drugs but some of the drugs landed next to him. He told police that he purchased the drugs from an individual. He purchased €25 worth of heroin and €25 worth of cocaine each time.

The experts could not carry an analysis of the total amount of drugs found in his possession since some drugs which were initially found by police were disposed of by the accused. It also said that it cannot be proved that the accused had in his possession half a gramme of cocaine and based its sentence on the 0.2 grammes of cocaine and the 0.1 grammes of heroin found in his possession and which the accused claimed he intended sharing with his girlfriend “since the two always shared the drugs”.

The defence objected to the fact that their client was not given a chance to speak to a lawyer before being interrogated. But the court argued that the case happened in March 2009 and it was only in February 2010 that the right to a lawyer before interrogation was introduced through a Legal Notice. It also resulted that the police read out his rights.

The court also found that the accused was not forced to give a statement to the police. The court took into consideration the fact that the accused admitted in two sworn statements he gave to police.