A father-of-three who handed the police 100 ecstasy pills after a search of his house turned up nothing, has been spared a jail sentence.

Sandro Camilleri, now 45, was arrested 14 years ago at a time when he had turned to drugs.

The police intercepted him at Xghajra on December 8, 2007 and found him in possession of a gram of cocaine.

A search of both his home and that of his then-girlfriend's yielded nothing.

But when taken to police headquarters for questioning, he confessed to having 100 ecstasy pills at his Zabbar office.

At the time, Camilleri had received no legal assistance while releasing his statements.

He was subsequently charged with supplying cocaine, trafficking ecstasy, aggravated possession of ecstasy as well as unlawful possession of the drugs.

In 2014 the case was assigned to Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras who, when delivering judgment observed that the delay in proceedings was mostly attributable to the accused.

Following an in-depth analysis of caselaw on the subject the court observed that the lack of legal assistance had resulted in incriminating statements by the accused which led to serious charges in his regard.

On the strength of both local and EU jurisprudence, the court declared those statements as inadmissible evidence.

The accused had testified in the proceedings.

He explained how at the time of his arrest he had been facing difficult times, trying to cope with the harsh reality of his father’s terminal illness. His father passed away the following year.

Camilleri said he made use of cocaine and ecstasy and explained how he had stocked up on the pills to benefit from a discount offered by his supplier. He used to go out at weekends, consuming some three pills each day from Friday to Sunday.

His then-girlfriend also took the witness stand, corroborating his version and recalling how those late nights out, his turning up late for work and lifestyle at the time had risked destroying their relationship.

But when he finally opened up about his drug problem and sought help, he had got his life back on track.

When arrested, he had led the police to his ecstasy stash, telling them, “I’d like to hand them over to you because I don’t want to continue in this mess. I don’t want to cause my father worry.”

When analyzing the evidence, Magistrate Galea Sciberras concluded that such evidence was not sufficient to prove that the 100 pills were not for the accused’s personal use.

His criminal record showed one conviction for simple heroin possession dating back to 1999.

Bearing in mind the lapse of time and the accused’s personal reform, the court concluded that an effective jail term would not be appropriate, opting instead for a suspended sentence in view of the fact the drug involved was “not at all minimal.”

The court cleared Camilleri of trafficking and aggravated possession and condemned him to a six-month jail term suspended for two years together with a €1500 fine.

He was also to pay court expert expenses totaling €677.91.

Inspector Victor Aquilina prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.