Eight years jail, €18,000 fine for drug pushing conspiracy

A Libyan man on trial over drug trafficking charges was yesterday jailed for eight years and fined €18,000 (Lm7,725) after jurors found him guilty of conspiring to traffic in heroin.

After nine hours of deliberation, jurors returned a not guilty verdict on two of the three counts, finding him guilty of the third.

Murad G.M. Erhuma, 26, from Tripoli was found not guilty by seven votes to two of conspiring to traffic in cannabis and of importing cannabis and guilty by six votes to three of conspiring to traffic in heroin in December 2003.

Another Libyan, 31-year-old Omar Mohamed Mehemud Erayani, who was jailed for heroin importation, testified against Mr Erhuma indicating him as the person who told him to bring drugs into Malta in December 2003. He told the court he recognised Mr Erhuma in prison when he was being held under preventive custody.

He said that Mr Erhuma had given him the drugs and had promised him $1,000 if he brought them over to Malta.

When Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, presiding over the trial, asked Mr Erhuma why he had made 17 trips to Malta in nine months, he replied that he was on business because he supplied pharmacies in Libya. The judge asked whether it was a coincidence that he and Mr Erayani had bought air tickets together and were on the same flight and Mr Erhuma said the idea was to save money on the fares.

Mr Erhuma denied any knowledge of the drugs and insisted it was all a coincidence.

The head of the prosecution unit at the Attorney General's Office, Anthony Barbara prosecuted together with Counsel to the Republic Nadine Sant.

Joe Mifsud was defence counsel.