Woman denied bail over dealing heroin and cocaine
Police were originally looking for her partner at her Siġġiewi residence
A 34-year-old Siġġiewi woman was denied bail after pleading not guilty to dealing heroin and cocaine.
Donna Pace appeared before the court on Wednesday afternoon, where she was accused of being in possession of the drugs in circumstances that denoted it was not for personal use, conspiracy to traffic drugs, and money laundering, among other charges.
Police inspector Jonathan Pace explained that an arrest warrant against Pace was executed in late December. When the police were at her residence in Siġġiewi, they found several drug paraphilia suggesting use and trafficking. They also found several small sachets containing drugs.
The woman told the police that while some were for her own personal use, the rest belonged to a third party.
The police took her two mobile phones and sent them for analysis. She was released on police bail until January 12.
When she returned to the police, she was shown several screenshots featuring photos of a white substance believed to be cocaine, several voice messages and other messages that read: “Do you like the one from last time? It’s new”, “I have a bit of everything”, “you come down, there are a lot of sharks around here, and probably I will have my property raided”.
The woman exercised her right to remain silent.
She was originally set to be arraigned before the court on Tuesday, but passed out just before her arraignment. The woman was discharged this morning.
In court, she denied the charges.
Lawyer Shaun Zammit requested bail, to which prosecutor Julian Scicluna objected.
Scicluna argued that the woman has a drug dependency issue, and there was no evidence that she held a job and could maintain herself. She was also being accused of breaching bail.
Zammit countered that the drugs found at the woman's residence were for personal use. He argued that she needs help and that the woman’s alleged attempt to sustain her habit landed her in the dock. He also distinguished between drug traffickers who sell and drug traffickers who seek to sustain their own addiction, arguing the latter need help.
He also noted that the woman was granted police bail, and had complied with the orders.
“Does the drug sold by someone to sustain a habit do different damage than the ones sold by those who want to buy a Mercedes?” Inspector Pace said, as he explained that initially they had gone to Pace’s house looking for her partner, who also has a drug addiction, and was on the wanted list.
Zammit clarified that one could not place traffickers and users who sell to maintain their habit in the same position.
The court denied bail on the grounds that there was no evidence that she would have a lawful employment with which she could sustain herself and her daughter, and observed that the woman had already been convicted for loitering and aggravated theft.
A freezing order was imposed.
Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia presided.
AG lawyer Julian Scicluna prosecuted, assisted by police inspector Jonathan Pace.
Lawyer Shaun Zammit appeared for the accused.