A drug victim was spared a jail term today in a ground-breaking judgment under the recently introduced Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act.

Back in 2009, a Drugs Squad surveillance operation had caught Malcolm Tanti of St Julian’s, who is now 43, just as he was about to hand over a drug-filled sachet to a third party.

Police found three sachets of heroin together with pieces of foil in his possession. Mr Tanti, the court heard, had no stable source of income at the time and used to traffic drugs to sustain his own addiction.

Although the first hearing of the case dated back to 2012, it was only last month that he registered a guilty plea, admitting to the charges of heroin trafficking and possession of cannabis resin.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, delved into the criminal history of the accused. She noted that the man had found himself in "a pitiful state" when in his childhood his own father would “test” upon him drugs intended for trafficking.

Eventually, the accused became a heroin addict, consuming some two or three sachets daily and resorting to criminal activity to sustain his addiction.

His colourful criminal record showed convictions for theft, damage to property and falsification of documents, as well as for heroin possession and trafficking, landing fines as well as suspended and effective prison sentences.

He went through a rehabilitation programme but once again fell into drug addiction after being released from prison in 2006. 

Turnaround

However, the year of his arrest proved to be a turning point in the accused’s life. The court noted that with the assistance of several trained professionals and a firm commitment on his part, the man had made remarkable progress, testing clean since 2013, save for two brief relapses.

Taking into account his long history of serious drug abuse, the court praised the “great effort and genuine dedication on the part of the accused and his truly satisfactory progress.”

In terms of the new Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act, once the court was convinced that the crimes charged were attributable mainly to the accused’s drug dependence, then the court was bound to refrain from applying the minimum mandatory prison sentence or excluding probation or suspension of the term of imprisonment.

For the purpose of striking a balance between the gravity of the offences committed and the remarkable progress of the accused, the court concluded that a suspended sentence would be suitable punishment, handing down a 14-month jail term suspended for three years, together with a €1,200 fine payable in €75 monthly installments.

The court also placed the man under a three-year supervision order.

Lawyer Kathleen Calleja Grima was defence counsel.

Prime Minister welcomes decision

In a tweet shortly after the judgement, the Prime Minister noted that for the first time since the introduction of the new drug laws in 2015, the courts decided not to sentence a trafficker who has since exited drug dependency to prison.

"This is an important step towards a common sense approach that rewards rehabilitation," he said.