A 30-year-old Nigerian has been jailed for three years and fined €2,000 after being found in possession of cocaine three years ago. The court said it was clear that the drug was not just for his personal use.

Ugo Marius Nwankwo, who had been living in Żejtun, was caught on March 19, 2009 in a bar in Marsascala by police who noticed two sachets of cocaine on the floor very near him.

In a search on his car, the officers found another plastic bag with cocaine and €770 in cash. After another search at his home, some €25,000 was found most of which later turned out to be money owned by his wife and her father.

In a statement to the police, Mr Nwankwo admitted the drugs were his and that he had begun using the drug around a month before he was caught.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia said the fact that he was caught with an amount of drugs usually associated with an addict who had used the drugs for far longer pointed to the fact that they were not for his exclusive use.