An Italian who claimed discrimination because a Maltese man accused of the same crime was given a more lenient punishment was yesterday jailed for eight years, with a judge insisting that comparisons were “odious”.

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano said that every case had to be seen on its merits and the court also had to consider other elements, such as the fact that the accused – Claudio Porsenna, 36 – was the mastermind of a drug trafficking attempt foiled by the police.

Mr Porsenna’s lawyer, Steve Tonna Lowell, complained in court on Monday that his client was being discriminated against because the Attorney General was pushing for a seven-year jail term and a €14,000 fine.

This, he noted, was 14 times that received by his co-accused, who had been jailed for one year and was reduced to six months on appeal.

The prosecution argued the other man had received a more lenient sentence because he had collaborated with the police.

On May 3, 2003, this man, whose name cannot be published by court order, was arrested in relation to drugs offences and in a statement to the police named Mr Porsenna as being involved.

The Maltese then pleaded guilty to trafficking two kilogrammes of cannabis and was jailed for a year. On appeal, his prison term was reduced to six months.

In considering the comments made by Dr Tonna Lowell, Mr Justice Quintano said: “Comparisons are odious and each case is to be decided and punishment determined on the merits of each case.”

Referring to another submission that Mr Porsenna had handled 2.5 kilogrammes of cannabis, just 500 grams more than the Maltese man, the judge pointed out even this could not be seen in isolation and the amount of drugs involved was only one aspect that should be considered.

Among the aspects to take into consideration, he mentioned collaboration with the police and the stage at which the accused had pleaded guilty to the charges – the very last stage of the criminal proceedings.

Moreover, Mr Porsenna had been the mastermind behind the drug trafficking attempt.

He said each case had to be decided on its own merits and that judgments were not calculated through a simple “inverse proportion”.

Mr Justice Quintano jailed him for eight years and fined him €15,000 which, if not paid within two months, will be automatically converted into an extra jail term.