A 23-year-old man was jailed for three years yesterday after he took full responsibility for the possession of 45 grams of cocaine that police seized from a10-year-old boy who ran away during a raid.

Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona also fined the man – who was dating the child’s sister – €1,000 for dealing the drugs close to a school or youthcentre and ordered that a two-year suspended jail term he had received for another crime be brought into force.

The man and his 21-year-old girlfriend were arrested on Sunday when drug squad police raided his Pietà apartment following a tip-off.

When officers arrived at the scene the boy ran off with the drugs and was eventually caught.

He was not arrested but was questioned. It emerged that the boy had been spending some time with his sister and her boyfriend over the weekend.

The child was referred to the government’s support agency Appoġġ which will be looking into whether he needs help. His sister will not he charged over the drug find after the boyfriend took the full blame.

Names have not been published to protect the identity of the child.

Police Inspector Jesmond Borg prosecuted, while lawyer Arthur Azzopardi represented the accused.