Man acquitted of drug trafficking

A jury this afternoon acquitted Francis Saliba 35, of Cospicua of possession and trafficking of 2.5 kg of cannabis.

The trial started on Monday and ended with a 6-3 verdict finding the accused not guilty.

The accused had told the court that his now deceased father had given him a plastic bag that unbeknown to him contained a large amount of cannabis.

"If I knew my father was selling drugs I would have told the authorities myself. I never would have thought this about my father. Although he was 76 he was more like an 18-year-old," Saliba had told the jurors.

Senior Police Inspector Norbert Ciappara told the court how in 2004 he had investigated a man by the name of Anthony Saliba, the father of the accused.

He said he had received information that Anthony Saliba was about to deal in drugs. Officers conducting surveillance on him saw him giving a plastic bag to another man, whom they later found out was his son Francis.

Francis Saliba, a father of two, testified that he was not a drug user. He added his father was "very strict when it came to these things. I could not even get a tattoo".