Court jails persistent drug addict for 18 months

A 36-year-old drug addict was jailed for 18 months with the magistrate acknowledging that he had made substantial progress to kick the habit over the last six months.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli sent a recommendation to the prison authorities so that Horace Zammit's drug rehabilitation programme may be continued in prison.

After considering the man's voluminous criminal record and the multiple chances he was given to turn over another leaf, the court felt there was no option but to jail him.

Mr Zammit admitted to stealing a car stereo and a wallet from a car in February of this year, carrying a knife without a licence and relapsing.

He had been a resident at the Santa Marija drug rehabilitation centre for the past six months and had made a lot of progress, a social worker told the court.

The court noted that Mr Zammit had already been arraigned several times on similar charges and had unsuccessfully started other drug rehabilitation programmes.