Briton wrongly convicted of importing ecstasy - 25-year jail term revoked

Silvan Azzopardi

Nov 4th 2009, 19:03

The law has lost its' soul.

lucian mercieca

Nov 4th 2009, 16:36

So now, who's getting the blame for this unbelievable story, how much did it cost the country ? and who's paying ? Well I am , and the rest of the tax payers.Well at least the police/customs had done their share,and the rest?

Jason Vassallo

Nov 4th 2009, 14:42

@ Mr Finch - Marsden would not have needed to hide panadols except to avoid the tax/duty on them. The fact is he played with fire and got burnt. Thank God for the police work on this case.
The law was not an ass in this case, but it was slightly behind the times. I believe that in Italy they mention 'sostanze stupefacenti', could this be a catch-all to avoid intances like this?
Marsden should crawl under a rock and hide in shame. How about him compensating for the damage that would have been caused if the pills had reached the market.
@ Cappitta - In the name of the father is about trumped up charges when there was no evidence connecting the accused to the crime. That is very different from this case.

Pule' Carmel

Nov 4th 2009, 09:43

What a lot of legal jargon to flumox the mind. So if I invent a new drug which I call ELUP ( my name reversed) and this is not written and mentioned by that name in the law that it is illegal, then I can export and import any amount of tons of it for it was not illegal and not mentioned in the law at the time. Now that is a nice big loophole in any law!!!!!!!!!!
It is the spirit and soul of the law that should be applied and not the black and white writing of the law on a piece of paper. Is a piece of written paper more powerful than the brains /minds of the Judical system. It is like standing in front of the traffic lights in which a fault occurred and it jammed on RED. Only fools stay stationary, I personaly wait for a while see that the lights are not working and decide for myself to keep going to make sure that I do not miss my lectures at University or go to hospital or the airport to arrive on time.

Graham Crocker

Nov 3rd 2009, 21:38

Joe Fenech, he imported mcPP .. Legal in the UK, but its well known to mixed with ecstasy or legal stimulants

r cutajar

Nov 3rd 2009, 18:27

And the west pretends that It has to teach Muslim countries in their way of dealing in such cases West get cues from such practices you pretend that gravity can levitate at the same time ! All of You who left this loophole should be made to FILL it up please do accept unprintabile diatribe public Guardians of the highest echelons of candle light workings !!

Joe Fenech

Nov 3rd 2009, 13:35

Wrongly convicted?

Well, OK - if according to the Maltese law he can't be jailed for importing Ecstasy in Malta , I am positive that he can be jailed in the UK for EXPORTING and TRAFFICKING Ecstacy.

Inform the British government about this case! Could the British High Commission tell us what their stance on this issue is?

mary ann borg

Nov 3rd 2009, 11:33

Good point Steve (and all the last few contributers): "Should Steve Marsden continue trafficking the mentioned substances, the blood is not just on his hands now."
What made me madder was the self-rightious attitude in the clip, Both Steve's and his lawyer's attitude disgusted me. Please acknowledge the truth...you found a convenient loophole..and you both know you are morally in the wrong.

A.Tabone

Nov 3rd 2009, 10:17

Lucky Steve can go home now.

And then a 16 yr old who gets caught smoking some weed for personal use has his life ruined with a bad police conduct.

Should Steve Marsden continue trafficking the mentioned substances, the blood is not just on his hands now.

Joseph A Borg

Nov 3rd 2009, 10:13

OK, I'll re-iterate what others have said below: ecstasy and cannabis are less harmful than cigarets and alcohol. That is corroborated by scientific studies, not moral hand-waving by tobacco holier-than-thou citizens.

That said, 50,000 pills is not for personal consumption and distributing drugs without permit is illegal, even if it's paracetamol.

Consumption should be legalised but monitored, distribution should be licensed for soft drugs, as it's already done for tobacco, alcohol and certain substitute, expensive legal drugs.

Also, Sedqa should promote the science not the political and policing messages.

R. Azzopardi

Nov 3rd 2009, 09:12

From what I can deduce, Mr. Marsden unknowingly made good use of a loophole. If there is no law stating that the substance he imported is illegal, he cannot be sent to prison. I am not stating that this man did not import drugs but I am saying that there is no law prohibiting the importation of this particular substance. Ever heard the saying "the law is an ass?" this is a perfect example.

Doris Soler

Nov 3rd 2009, 09:09

This sort of story has steam coming out of my ears ! My heart bleeds for Mr Marsden - I don't think !! Quite obviously he knew he was importing drugs whether they were on the list of illegal drugs or not at the time - our laws should learn to be as wily as these people! Human rights trampled on eh ? Why not try pulling this one in Malaysia or Saudi next time, Mr Marsden and then bleat about your human rights - they've got the right ideas on how to handle drug dealers !

R Axisa

Nov 3rd 2009, 09:04

The funniest thing about it all is that after these pills were found not to be ecstasy, but mCPP which were not listed as illegal at that time, these were declared illegal after this incident. And this guy is now free on such a technicality! The fact that mCPP was declared illegal after this incident, in no way means that these are harmless, and even more serious is the way these were being brought into Malta. The court should not act on what is technically legally correct, but should take into consideration what is morally wrong too! That's why our society is in shambles!

Alexia Farrugia

Nov 2nd 2009, 23:07

Nullum crimen sine lege. The old maxim that there is no crime unless there is a law that considers an act or omission to be a crime.

Charles P Cilia

Nov 2nd 2009, 22:52

Will the 50,000 pills and the Euro 60,000 be given back to poor Steve?

RJ Azzopardi

Nov 2nd 2009, 22:11

Uk drug advisor was sacked for saying ecstasy and LSD were/are less dangerous than alcohol -http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/30/drugs-adviser-david-nutt-sacked

Jesmond Micallef

Nov 2nd 2009, 21:47

Long Draconian sentences serve as a deterent just like British Nuclear Submarines. It is obviuos...... no !!!

Chris Finch

Nov 2nd 2009, 21:11

At the time he imported them, they were not illegal! Therefore he committed no crime.

To spend 3 years in jail for something that wasn't illegal is indeed a clear breach of human rights.

Should we imprison the the importers of panadol now in case someone decides to make them illegal in the future?

The key fact is at the time of importing them, no crime was committed!

joseph cachia

Nov 2nd 2009, 20:57

@ J. Fenech

MARSDEN did know that the tablests are fake , paid a very low price about £500,
hid them in his vehicle drove to MALTA with the intention to pass them as ecstasy for £M1
each in bulk.
Why hiding ? He do know such quantity will raise suspicion if found among personal items
even if tablets are legal, questions of intention of use would be asked.
This person came to MALTA from Spain where he was suppose to be on holidays or on important business.
There are other suspicious matters on this case, BUT.........................

Anthony Azzopardi

Nov 2nd 2009, 20:27

This kind gentleman imports 50000 tabs with effects similar to Ecstasy. He hides them. What was he proposing to do with them? Donate them to the Government or give them for free fuq il Monti? When he is caught, his lawyer defends him on a technicality and he is now free to bring in more unusual drugs. The icing on the cake is that his lawyers claims that his Human Rights were broken. Was he in the Middle East his head would already be lying near his body. We really need such tourists. Finally , well done to the Police; at least he spent more than 3 years in prison

R. Gauci

Nov 2nd 2009, 20:22

Xoghol tajjeb hafna mill-Pulizja u mid-Dwana li waslu biex qabdu din id-"droga" li kienet MOHBIJA tajjeb u li ddahhlet Malta b'mod makkak hafna fil-finali tat-Tazza tad-Dinja safa rrovinat bhal ma jigri hafna drabi bis-sentenzi moghtija mill-Qrati taghna. Mhux ta` xejn dawn iz-zewg dipartimenti mahkumin minn moral baxx hafna.

Tony Caruana

Nov 2nd 2009, 20:07

People found not guilty should have the right to sue the Police personally and in their official capacity.

Eman Pulis

Nov 2nd 2009, 18:55

One can be morally wrong but still acting within the parameters of law. What is legally right is not necessarily morally sound.

JOE AGIUS

Nov 2nd 2009, 17:47

even if u hide 50000 panadols sounds a bit smelly......let alone !!

Paul Smith

Nov 2nd 2009, 17:42

The drug advisory board of the United Kingdom whom is made up of leading scientists, whom reports to the British Government have just said that Cannabis is less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol and therfore should be ranked less dangerous under the misuse of Drugs laws. Ecstacy was also ranked less dangerous than Alcohol and cigarettes although was ranked more dangerous than cannabis. The whole idea of a drugs advisory board is to help government classify drugs in order of danger and allow appropriate sentencing in our law courts. When leading world scientists say Cannabis is less harmful than Cigs and Alcohol, why are users being sentenced to long draconian prison sentences in Malta ruining those persons lives forever, whilst Bar owners get away with plying youngsters with cheap alcohol when some of those youngsters go onto kill at the seat of a car and end up out of prison within months if at all a sentence is served?

mary ann borg

Nov 2nd 2009, 17:29

To me this a the kind of thing that really destroys my trust in the justice system... As far as I can tell he was freed because his lawyers found a loophole. SHAME!

Jesmond Micallef

Nov 2nd 2009, 16:45

Technically, this case may seem harmless and that Mr. Marsden was wrongly accused, but still, when I consider:

"The pills were allegedly hidden in the panels of his Mitsubishi Pajero when he was stopped by police as he was driving off the catamaran on July, 9, the night of the World Cup."

Why did he hide such stuff ? What was the intention of this person to import such chemicals, hidden ? When someone hides something, ................... ?? Furthermore, did he know the difference between mCPP and MDMA ? (This question is important)

Why did he hide such stuff, when it was not illegal ??

Isn't there an element of malicious INTENT here on behalf of Mr. Marsden whichever way you look at it..........

And 50,000 pils are quite alot too,!!!!

Joe Fenech

Nov 2nd 2009, 16:45

The government should have generic but strong guidelines of what constitutes a drug and it's class. One cannot just make a list of drugs as new ones are invented every day.

This issue is farcical and shows how amateurish our laws and judicial system are.

J. Borg

Nov 2nd 2009, 16:15

guess that Mr Marsden was aware that the pills were legal and just hid them so that they don't get squashed....no?

G. Cappitta

Nov 2nd 2009, 16:06

@ J Farrugia

Yes it would make a good movie. But there is a true story which has already been made a movie about a similar story. You should watch it. The title of the film is 'In The Name of The Father'

JFarrugia

Nov 2nd 2009, 15:56

Ok so let me get this straight.
He imported pills (stupid idea but anyhow) that at the time were not illegal and gets sent to prison for 25years and fined 60,000 euros. 3 years later after appealing he's found not guilty and is to be freed from prison.
Ok so his life is ruined and he just lost 3 years of it. way to go justice system.

Would make a good movie.

C. Lia

Nov 2nd 2009, 15:56

So if a new drug is discovered in let's say Colombia, then I can import a whole container of it since it would be unknown to the Maltese law?? Who said the law is an ass was hundred percent right.

joe fenech

Nov 2nd 2009, 15:28

OMG !!!......
this is the most embarrassed moment for local police ! Did the court know the effects of MDMA ???? have a look !!

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/mdma_faq01.htm