A convicted drug trafficker whose original prison sentence was far harsher than that of a fellow trafficker arrested that same day under similar circumstances has had his jail term halved on appeal. 

Stephen Borg, 41, was found guilty of cocaine trafficking in 2015, in a case that had stemmed from a drugs raid at his Birkirkara home back in 2009.

District police officers, alerted to suspicious comings and goings at the residence on Naxxar Road, had set up a surveillance operation that ultimately led to the raid. Police found several people and drug paraphernalia during that raid. The accused, however, was not present.

A magistrates’ court had convicted him of cocaine trafficking and condemned him to a six-year effective jail term as well as €8,000 fine, besides ordering him to shoulder court expert expenses totaling €3,630.12.

Mr Borg had filed an appeal, arguing that he had not even been present during the raid and that while he had a drug addiction problem, this was a case of sharing drugs, not trafficking them. 

Moreover, another man whose Sta Venera home had been searched on the same day and who had faced similar criminal charges had gotten off much more leniently, with a 12-month jail term and a €1,500 fine.

The court of criminal appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, noted that although Mr Borg was not at his house during the raid, there was no doubt it was his place of residence.

Nor did the court uphold the argument that this was a case of sharing, pointing out that various persons had testified about buying cocaine from the appellant, handing over “thousands” in payments to Mr Borg who would, occasionally, even deliver the drug to their home. 

However, the court did take note of the parallel case concerning the Sta Venera trafficker who was raided on the very same day as Mr Borg. 

Despite the identical charges, each case presented particular features, just as “every person accused had his own story,” observed Madam Justice Scerri Herrera, pointing out that the other drug trafficker had overcome his habit after completing a rehabilitation programme.

No proof of the sort had been produced in respect of Mr Borg, the court said, though pointing out that the first court had not found him guilty of recidivism.

The court observed further that punishment was to be proportionate and that similar circumstances were not to warrant a great discrepancy in punishment.

In the light of such considerations, the Court confirmed the conviction but reduced the jail term from six to three years and more than halved the fine to €3,000, confirming the court expert expenses and the destruction of the drugs.

Lawyer David Gatt assisted the appellant.