A man who was allegedly found in possession of six cocaine sachets at a New Year’s Eve party nine years ago, was acquitted on Monday after his police statement was discarded and the arresting officers failed to recognize him in court.

Sean Gatt, now 32, landed on the wrong side of the law when he was targeted during spot checks carried out by police during that festive bash. A search on his person allegedly yielded six sachets of a suspicious substance, subsequently confirmed to be cocaine.

Mere hours after his arrest, the suspect was interrogated, making a statement without being assisted by a lawyer when he did so.

When the incident took place, in the very early hours of January 1, 2014, Maltese law did not yet provide for a suspect to be assisted by a lawyer when giving his statement in the pre-trial stage.

However,  the courts have consistently discarded such statements given under similar circumstances to those faced by Gatt.

During questioning, the man admitted that he had bought the drug for his own personal use and also to share with his friends.

He was later charged with procuring and possessing the drug in circumstances indicating that the drug was not intended solely for personal use.

He pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Elaine Mercieca said the self-incriminating statement was the sole concrete proof which the prosecution had against the accused.

However, as other courts, both criminal and constitutional, had done previously to ensure that the accused’s right to a fair hearing was safeguarded, the court in this case was declaring that Gatt’s statement was not to be considered as evidence against him.

The court deemed it was not opportune to rely on that statement to decide upon the accused’s guilt or otherwise.

Once that statement was discarded, the rest of the evidence fell short of the degree of proof required by law.

The two officers who had arrested the accused and seized the drug did not recognize him in court and neither did they produce an ID number to match that of the accused.

Nor could they identify the substance that they had allegedly seized and which was later certified by a court expert as cocaine.

In light of such circumstances, the accused could never be found guilty, concluded the court, thus pronouncing an acquittal.

Lawyer David Gatt was defence counsel.