The Criminal Court on Friday sentenced a man to 19 years in prison and a €35,000 fine after he admitted to the importation and trafficking of cannabis grass valued at more than €263,000. 

Malaysian national Hew Jun Hui, 34, was found guilty of four drug-related charges. The charges included importing or causing the importation of cannabis grass, associating with others to traffic the drug, trafficking by sale or otherwise, and possession in circumstances indicating it was not for his personal use.

The case centred on the arrival of approximately 24 kilograms of cannabis grass brought into Malta from Dubai. Customs Inspector Anthony Scerri testified that during a routine inspection at Luqa Airport, a sniffer dog was alerted to two pieces of luggage. Hew subsequently collected the bags and was identified and arrested.

Court-appointed expert Gilbert Mercieca confirmed that the material analysed was cannabis, weighing a total of 23.915 kilos. The substance had an estimated market value of €263,065.

The court noted that the sentence followed a joint recommendation submitted by the Attorney General and the defence on 13 November 2025. In determining the penalty, the court took into account the accused's clean criminal record at the time of the offence and his admission before the filing of a Bill of Indictment, while observing that the guilty plea was not entered at the earliest stage.

In addition to the custodial term, from which time spent in preventive custody was to be deducted, and the €35,000 fine, the court issued several ancillary orders. These included the confiscation in favour of the state of all property belonging to the convicted man, as well as the payment of €7,865.33 in expert and inquiry costs. Failure to settle these costs within one year may have resulted in conversion into a further term of imprisonment.

The court also ordered the destruction of the seized cannabis once the judgment became final, unless the Attorney General declared within fifteen days that the drug was required for other criminal proceedings.

Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided over the case.