Gerald Cauchi told police the cannabis seeds were for his pet finch.

The manager of a Ħamrun bar was jailed for 14 months for trafficking in heroin and the possession of cannabis seeds, which he told police was bird food for his pet finch.

Gerald Cauchi, 50, was also fined €1,000 after Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras found him guilty of trafficking in heroin, the possession of cannabis and selling drugs in an area frequented by young people in January 2010.

Magistrate Galea Sciberras heard how, on January 27, 2010, police carried out a search at Liverpool Bar in Ħamrun run by Mr Cauchi.

As soon as police walked into the bar they noticed Mr Cauchi throw a plastic bag under the counter.

The plastic bag contained 16 sachets of heroin amounting to a total of 6.6 grams. Thirteen of the sachets were made of paper and each one contained roundly 0.33 grams while the other three were plastic sachets that contained about 0.76 grams.

During a search at the bar, investigators also found two cameras, seven wrist watches, two mobile phones, two car stereos and a plastic bag containing seeds.

They also searched his house where they found two electronic weighing scales and pieces of foil.

The accused insisted he had a drug addiction problem and that he never sold drugs from the bar although he did take drugs there.

He did, however, tell investigators he had sold drugs occasionally from the Ħamrun square to sustain his habit and said he had not done so in a long time. He he had bought the electronic weighing scales from Oxford Street and the seeds that police found were just the food for his pet finch which he had for three years.

But, the magistrate heard, germination tests on 100 random seeds showed they were cannabis seeds.

The magistrate found that the prosecution had sufficiently proven the charges brought against Mr Cauchi and noted that the accused had previous convictions that included theft and drug possession.

She jailed him for 14 months and recommended that he be provided with help to overcome his drug addiction while serving time. Police inspector Johann Fenech prosecuted.