A passenger, carrying a knuckleduster in his bag, was arrested at the Malta International Airport on Thursday and landed with a suspended sentence upon his arraignment on Friday. 

Ahmed Foyez, a 33-year old Bangladeshi national, had been carrying the weapon that was listed as prohibited under arms legislation, when he was stopped by customs officials.

“This was a minor weapon, not like a revolver or a gun,” argued defence lawyer Martin Fenech, pointing out that the man had even paid customs duty on the weapon, amounting to €6.

Prosecuting Inspector Frankie Sammut countered that although the charge carried a jail term of between three months and 10 years, since in this case, the accused was probably to be deported, the prosecution would not insist upon an effective jail term.

The court, presided over by magistrate Doreen Clarke, upon the accused’s own admission and after hearing submissions by both parties, condemned the man to a three-month prison term suspended for one year. 

The court also ordered the confiscation of the weapon and disqualified the guilty party from possessing weapons in Malta for the next five years.