A man found in possession of 200 ecstasy pills when boarding a Gozo ferry was jailed for 18 months and fined €700.

Gozitan David Buttigieg, 26, was found guilty of trafficking and being in possession of the pills but cleared of conspiring to traffic in the drugs.

Mr Buttigieg was boarding the ferry to Gozo with a friend when police officers stopped them after noticing they were acting suspiciously on the night of November 24, 2006. The police found 200 pills on each of them.

Testifying, Mr Buttigieg's father, Philip, said he never knew that his son suffered from a drug problem, adding he did notice that his son would sometimes be very nervous and sulk. He would occasionally give him between €50 and €70 but that did not happen regularly.

Medical doctor John Borg testified that Mr Buttigieg had been suffering from psychosomatic problems as he had been abandoned by his mother.

Noel Scerri, manager for treatment and rehabilitation at the Oasi rehabilitation centre in Gozo, told the court that Mr Buttigieg would use the drugs to help him forget his emotional problems.

On being asked whether he thought Mr Buttigieg's drug problems were acute, Mr Scerri said he was unable to say adding that Mr Buttigieg was one of those users that resorted to drugs during the week to feel good.

At a later sitting, the court heard that Mr Buttigieg had since made a full recovery.

Mr Buttigieg testified that he would contact a Maltese man who would supply him with the pills and, on the day he was stopped by the police, he had paid €1,514 for the consignment. He said that 200 pills would last him for a month and a half, using about 20 pills every weekend.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano noted that the figures the accused gave did not tally because, if he used 20 pills a week, that would mean the amount would last for two and a half months, adding that it was only after he was caught by the police that the accused started to seek help.

Asked why he was carrying such a large amount of drugs, Mr Buttigieg said he did not want to keep travelling back and forth to Malta in order to purchase drugs, so he would buy in large quantities.

The court noted that he also used taxis when travelling to get the drugs. There was no reason for him to buy in such large quantities as he had the means to easily pick the drugs up.

Having admitted to asking a Maltese man to get an extra 200 pills for his friend, the court found Mr Buttigieg guilty of trafficking, adding that the amount was too large and the court was satisfied that it was not for his own exclusive use.

Police Inspector Pierre Grech prosecuted.