Drug addict, trafficker jailed for three years

A drug trafficker was yesterday jailed for over three years and fined €2,500 after some 40 grammes of cocaine and 17 grammes of cannabis were found in his possession during a police raid.

Cocaine addict Joachim Spagnol, 44, of Gżira would visit bars in the Sliema and St Julians area on specific days and times so that clients would be able to buy the drugs from him, police sources said.

The police carried out a raid on his house on June 24 and stopped him just as he was walking out of his front door.

They found 32 sachets of cocaine in his pockets and in a search of his flat found another 28, amounting to a total of 42.3 grammes. They also seized a bag containing 17.4 grammes of cannabis.

Mr Spagnol uses two to three grammes of cocaine a day to fuel his habit, the sources added.

In yesterday's arraignment, unaided by a lawyer, the accused pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine, possessing the drug in circumstances which denote it was not for his exclusive use, to possession of cannabis, possessing a firearm without a licence and relapsing.

After taking into consideration the seriousness of the charges and his early guilty plea, Magistrate Doreen Clarke jailed him for three years and four months and fined him €2,500.