Caught selling heroin

A Gozitan was yesterday jailed for eight months and fined €500 after he was caught red handed trafficking heroin in Xlendi in 2004.

Raymond Rotin, 39, of Għarb, a first-time offender, was caught by the police in a sting operation after they received information about his drug dealing.

Mr Rotin worked in the drainage room in a Xlendi car park where officers observed a woman, Dorothy Refalo, approach him and hand over a Lm10. He was about to give her a sachet containing heroin but the officers intervened, Police Inspector Antonello Grech said.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera found him guilty of trafficking in heroin, being in possession of the drug in circumstances denoting it was not for his exclusive use and of being possession of the drug codeine.

Taking the witness stand as a character witness, Fr Manuel Cordina testified that the accused had a drug problem and that he had tried to help him but had since lost all contact.