Wednesday, 7th January 2009 - 20:17CET
Updated: Briton convicted in drug trial - jailed for 25 years
A Briton accused of conspiracy to deal with ecstasy in the summer of 2006 was this evening convicted by a jury after nearly 11 hours of deliberation. Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono jailed him for 25 years and fined him €60,000.
Steve Marsden, 48, had been found in possession of over 50,000 pills hidden in his jeep when he arrived from Sicily on July 9, 2006, the night of the World Cup final.
When originally arraigned in 2006, Mr Marsden had been charged with importing 28 packets, containing 50,000 ecstasy pills, with the Lacoste crocodile logo embossed on them. He had also been accused of trafficking in the drug.
However, two months into the compilation of evidence, court expert Mario Mifsud, a pharmacist, had testified that the pills were not illegal.
It turned out that the pills contain the chemical mCPP, which shares several pharmacological properties with MDMA (ecstasy) but was not illegal in Malta when the find was allegedly made.
The charges of importing and pushing drugs were subsequently dropped and the Attorney General issued a bill of indictment accusing Mr Marsden of conspiring to deal in ecstasy.
Mr Marsden appealed, arguing that since the drugs were not illegal the "charge as it stands is an invention of the Attorney General in his unfettered right to charge as he deems fit".
The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano, Mr Justice David Scicluna and Mr Justice Joseph Micallef, threw out the appeal and ruled that "a person may be found guilty of, say, conspiracy to import heroin into Malta even though the stuff he eventually brings into Malta turns out to be baking powder. It all depends on what was actually agreed upon between the conspirators and, more specifically, on the object of the conspiracy".
The appeals court said that it was not up to it to decide whether "it was "real" ecstasy or "fake" ecstasy, adding that the Attorney General was clearly of the opinion that it was "real" and Mr Marsden disagreed. However, at this point it was up to a jury to decide.
The jurors this evening returned an 8-1 guilty verdict.
In submissions on punishment, defence counsel Joe Brincat said his client had a clean conduct sheet and this was his first run. The amount he expected to be paid was only Lm5,000.
The head of the Prosecution Unit, Anthony Barbara said Mr Marsden had been found guilty of a very serious crime. He said that there was the intent to harm Maltese society. If these pills were sold, they would have made €500,000.
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Young teenagers need protection from deviant monkeys like yourself. Just be thankfull, you have a bed to sleep on, something to eat and plenty of time to contemplate !!! Enjoy
I'm no expert either but it does makes sense that it is a crime to plan a crime which does not materialise. For example it is a crime to hire a killer even if he turns out to be an undercover policeman. Likewise it is a crime to set a bomb, even if it doesn't actually go off. It is obvious that Steve Marsden intended to do what he was accused of doing but tried to get off on a technicality. Hats off to our justice system for showing zero tolerance to such tactics.
The way I read the section you highlights is.....
If you conspire to distribute a product such as cocaine, the crime you will be charges with is conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Even if it only turns out that you were going to defraud people and give them baking soda.
In this case he was obviously going to distribute the pills as Ecstasy. 50,000 pills hidden in his car. My understanding is that it is not certain that the pills will have the same desired effect or not. However, what is clear is that he was going to distribute it as Ecstasy.
It is also clear that his was not an innocent traveling to Malta with his supply of vitamins.
This conviction sends out a clear and strong message and I am glad for it.
where would you prefer your taxes went?
medical services to pump the drugs out of the victims of this crime? detox? social work and psychology services to help drug users and their families out of the mess they got into?
Being one of your 'usual suspects' I'm satisfied that justice was done. Ruining the young generation should be punished with the maximum sentence allowed by law. And that's what happened. We need more no-nonsense judges and magistrates like Dr. Galea Debono to get a zero-tolerance message across.
I find it ludicrous that such laws exist. So If I sell baking powder to someone and tell them that it is Heroin I am considered a trafficker of Heroin? In my opinion I'd be doing a good deed because I'd be giving a potential drug addict something harmless and perfectly legal instead of an extremely dangerous and illegal drug.
Apart from that the substance that this man imported was NOT illegal at the time. I am sceptical about the jury system because to me it is reminiscent of 'il-qrati tal-poplu' as made notorious by an ex-prime minister of Malta.
You are confusing two issues and, therefore, your logic is flawed.
This is a case of convicted drug trafficing and Justice must not only BE done but SEEN being done. If a convicted criminal is sent "home" to do his time it would lessen the punishment and also have the risk that the sentence is cut short.
As for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS they are not only breaking the law by entering our country without any identification or visas BUT also demanding to be housed, fed, watered and PAID! Yes - they should be deported.
why the Maltese taxpayer should be paying for him to stay in our prisons?
The taxpayer, won't mind since this is the best to prevent Our Children from deadly drug
pushers ! JUSTICE WAS DONE.
"a person may be found guilty of, say, conspiracy to import heroin into Malta even though the stuff he eventually brings into Malta turns out to be baking powder. It all depends on what was actually agreed upon between the conspirators and, more specifically, on the object of the conspiracy".
I am not even going to explain… just think about it! I feel sorry for many innocent people that will be subjected to this kind of reasoning.
There are arrangements with certain other countries (I think Libya is one) whereby nationals of that country convicted in Malta can serve their sentence in their home country. I wouldn't know if this applies in this case.
This person is a convicted criminal, and will serve his sentence in Malta. It is the norm, worldwide, that convicted criminals serve their sentence in the country where they commit the crime.
For example, try committing a crime in Singapore, and see whether the Singaporean justice system would allow you to leave the country following conviction. Even powerful countries such as the UK or the US would not be able to bring out their nationals out of Singapore following a conviction.
A similar situation exists in Indonesia. Many Australian nationals are serving their sentence in Indonesian prisons. In spite of pressure from relatives, the Australian government is very rarely able to transfer these nationals to Australian prisons.
This Briton committed a crime against Maltese society, and the Maltese justice system is within its rights to deal with him all the way and not surrender the criminal to foreign authorities. Those who intend to come to Malta with the intention of committing a crime should think twice. Maltese society is suffering greatly from criminal activities committed by foreigners.