Court jails ex-security guard who ‘smoked 12 joints a day’

A court yesterday rejected a former security guard’s claim that the 250 grammes of cannabis he was caught with were for his personal use because he smoked 12 joints a day.

Nicholas Gauci, 31, of Rabat, was jailed for a year and fined €1,500 for possession of the drug denoting it was not for his exclusive use.

He was caught red-handed in a police operation.

The police started investigating the case after they were informed that a drug deal would take place in Lija on June 26, 2007, the court heard. On the day in question, a police surveillance team saw a white Pajero four-wheeler and a white Honda civic pull up next to each other and a suspicious exchange take place. The police followed both cars and stopped the Honda, driven by Mr Gauci, in Mtarfa. They found the cannabis inside the vehicle, the court was told.

In a statement to the police, Mr Gauci claimed it was for his own personal use because he would smoke about 12 joints a day. But Magistrate Marseann Farrugia said this did not make sense. He could make hundreds of joints using 250 grammes and, anyway, where would he find the time to smoke them all considering that at the time he had a full-time job to deal with, she asked.

Another point raised by the magistrate was that Mr Gauci had made an arrangement with the drug trafficker, known as Il-Mundu, to pay for the drug later. They cost him €355. Such type of behaviour did not indicate it was someone who claimed to have a lot of money, the magistrate said.

The court noted that Mr Gauci should benefit from a reduction in punishment because he would be testifying against others.