A Qormi man was yesterday jailed for 18 months and fined Lm400 for drug possession in circumstances denoting it was not for his personal use.

Christopher Mazzitelli, 21, was found guilty of the possession of cannabis resin on and before March 21, 2000.

Magistrate Noel Cuschieri heard how the police went to a Qormi scrapyard after they were informed that people were abusing drugs there.

At the scrapyard the police spotted two people behind a van. One of them was Mazzitelli, who worked at the scrapyard. When he noticed the police he ran away, jumped onto the bonnet of a car and threw something away.

It was eventually established that he had thrown five pieces of cannabis resin weighing a total of 15.387 grammes.

The magistrate noted that the cannabis resin was packed separately, that Mazzitelli was found in its possession outside his house and that no items related to drug abuse were found when police searched his residence. That indicated that the drug was not for his personal use.

On handing down judgement, the magistrate took into consideration Mazzitelli`s clean criminal record and the type of drug involved. He said he could not ignore the gravity of the crime and ordered the drugs to be destroyed.

Police Inspector Neville Aquilina prosecuted.

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