A man caught red-handed foraging for drugs in the vegetation of a St Julian’s car park garden was ordered to be deported after serving his sentence.
Hussein Abdullahi Jama, a 28-year-old Somali national living in Marsa, had pleaded guilty when arraigned just over a week ago over drug-related charges.
He was arrested on the evening of September 7 when police patrolling the area of St George’s Road in Paceville spotted the man acting somewhat suspiciously, apparently searching among the grassy border of a car park.
The area is well known for drug trafficking activity, prosecuting inspector Mark Cremona explained.
The officers looked on as the man seemed to pick up items from the ground and then stuff them under his shirt.
His suspicious behaviour drew the policemen closer and the suspect was stopped and searched.
He was found in possession of a black bag containing 38 sachets filled with a white powder, later certified as cocaine. The sachets appeared to be ready for trafficking.
The bag also contained €450 in €20 and €10 notes.
Other sachets filled with cannabis were subsequently retrieved from the vegetation where the suspect had been spotted a while before.
The search continued at the man’s residence where police came across empty sachets, mobile phones and other drug paraphernalia.
Under interrogation, the suspect claimed to have chanced across the drugs in the Paceville car park garden.
He was arraigned the following day, charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis under circumstances denoting that the drugs were not solely for personal use, aggravated by the fact that he allegedly committed the offences within 100 metres of a place frequented by youths.
He was also charged with relapsing.
The defendant registered an admission upon arraignment and the case was put off for judgment.
When meting out punishment the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, took note of the nature of the crimes, the amount of drugs, the accused’s unruly character and all other circumstances of the case, including his early admission.
The court condemned the accused to a one-year term of imprisonment, a €500 fine and ordered the confiscation of all his assets, both movable and immovable.
The court also ordered the destruction of the illicit substances.
In line with the Immigration Act, the court directed the Principal Immigration Officer to exercise all his powers to deport the defendant once he has served punishment.
Article 5(2)(d) of that Act states that a person having a lawful residence permit becomes a 'prohibited immigrant' if found guilty of certain crimes, including drug offences.
Inspector Mark Cremona prosecuted.