Partner hides drug in prison fruit

A woman broke down in tears in court as she pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle drugs into prison hidden in a packet of dates.

Do you really want to go to drug rehabilitation?- magistrate

Miriam Caruana, 27, a drug addict of Valletta, was taking the cannabis to her boyfriend of Arab descent on Sunday. The guards, who routinely check food, paid special attention to her because of her previous run-ins with the police.

Standing in the dock wiping tears from her eyes, Ms Caruana pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle the drugs into prison, aggravated possession, committing the crime within 100 metres of a youth club and relapsing.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke asked Ms ­Caruana: “Do you really want to go to drug rehabilitation?”

She nodded her head and sheepishly answered yes.

In submissions on punishment, Police Inspector Jesmond Borg noted that Ms Caruana had committed the crime while on probation following a suspended jail term.

Legal aid lawyer Henry Antonich asked the court to take into consideration her early guilty plea and the fact that she was a drug addict herself who needed help.

The magistrate jailed her for two years and three months, which included a three-month suspended jail term she received in March for drug related theft charges.

Police Inspector Jurgen Vella also prosecuted.