A man was spared an effective one-year jail term after a judge ruled that the prosecution had not managed to prove the link between the accused and the drugs found in a car he was driving.

Melvin Debono, 31, known by his nickname “il-Quws”, had been jailed for a year and fined €1,000 after having been found guilty of aggravated possession of cocaine. The drugs were found during a police raid in February 2016 when investigators had found several sachets in a Pajero he was driving.

Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja upheld the first ground of appeal filed by his lawyers, Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, on the statement he had released to the police without having been given the right to consult with his lawyers. Although the right had not yet been introduced at the time, caselaw on this subject pointed towards its inadmissibility if it was the only evidence against the accused.

In this case, the judge noted, the police relied mostly on what the accused said during his interrogation. They did not bring any witnesses, such as Debono’s then-girlfriend who was with him in the car when it was stopped by police. He, therefore, ruled that the statement could not be considered evidence.

When analysing the rest of the case, the judge noted that the total amount of cocaine found in different sachets was of just over two grams, which was not an exorbitant amount and could well be accepted as having been for personal use. An average drug addict may consume up to two grams a day.

Moreover, there was nothing linking the accused to the sachets and neither was there any proven link to the vehicle he was driving.

Given these deficiencies in the way the prosecution dealt with the case, he cleared Debono of all charges.