When a security guard stopped Anthony Zampa at a Spanish airport last December, he assumed it was a random search. But it was actually the opening chapter of an ordeal that would land him in prison on drugs charges.
Three weeks ago, he was acquitted of trafficking cocaine, but only after he was locked up for 10 months. During this time he felt helpless as he received news that his mother had passed away and that his father was seriously ill. The 42-year-old, who at the time headed a private security firm, was returning from a two-day business trip the morning of December 15, 2007, when he was stopped at one of the metal detectors leading to the departure gates. He was frisked by a security officer, but even though he was clean, another two officers were called in to carry out a more rigorous search.
"I felt at that point that something was wrong, but I started to worry when police officers were called in to do yet another search," Mr Zampa told The Sunday Times.
Mr Zampa was unaware that a Nigerian man boarding the same flight had been caught with what was then believed to be a kilo of cocaine. An anonymous caller had tipped off police about both men.
"I intuitively put two and two together when this black man was brought into the same interrogation room. I said to myself - they're somehow connecting us and they brought him here to identify me, so I'm in the clear because I don't know this guy. I had no idea about the phone call then."
Before he knew it, by his side were a Spanish lawyer and an interpreter, who explained to him that he was being charged with possession of a kilo of cocaine.
"I was in shock, especially when they said in court that I could face between nine and 13-and-a-half years in prison."
Mr Zampa was taken to Girona prison. By this time, news reached Malta and the fact that he had had a few minor scrapes with police in the past did not help his position. He was even sucked into the political spin thanks to his connections with the Nationalist Party.
"I could write a book about my experience... I went in as a busy businessman, fending off phone calls and paper work, and came out an expert on how drugs are smuggled."
While in prison, he was not even allowed to make a phone call in the first few days as he went through what is known as ingreso (entry) - a two-day induction period during which an inmate undergoes medical tests before he is assigned a cell on one of the prison's wings.
However, at the airport the authorities had called his wife on his behalf. A Ryanair representative, who acted as an intermediary, told her he was under arrest but safe.
Once out of the ingreso, he was assigned a bed in a six-man cell. "I was placed with the Arabs, Moroccans and Algerians. In that cell there were all sorts: a young man who had stolen a car stereo, a double murderer and a Spanish child rapist."
He learnt Spanish during his time there. It helped him, but not as much as he had hoped because the predominantly Catalan guards - known for their staunch nationalism - took offence that he chose to learn Spanish over Catalan.
Eventually, he made friends with a couple of British inmates who were there for drug trafficking. "You have no choice but to befriend people," he says, qualifying his relationship with the two. "But I would have been completely lost without them."
Besides benefitting from the "respect" they enjoyed - a potentially life-saving commodity - the two put him in touch with one of the best Spanish lawyers in the area, specialising in drug-related cases.
"He cost me a bomb, the down payment, just for accepting the case, was €6,000 but I figured it was my best chance to get out of this mess," he recalls. His wife collected some money owed to him through his security services business and flew to Girona as fast as she could to get things going.
The lawyer's first move was to ask for bail, as had been done by the legal aid solicitor who was assigned to him for the first hearing, but the request was turned down again.
"I was told I had little chance of bail as I was a foreigner, but my heart sank just the same because it was just about the time when I was told that my mother died."
He coped by sticking to a routine of study, slowly mastering Spanish. But to compound matters, his father fell ill shortly after.
In the meantime, however, his lawyer was working away on the case and started reporting back with positive news. The only connection between the Nigerian and Mr Zampa was the anonymous phone call.
They pushed ahead and finally got a date for a hearing before three judges on September 29.
That morning, the case of the Nigerian was heard separately. The charges were modified from possession of one kilo of cocaine to 257 grams and the African was sentenced to four years.
Mr Zampa and his lawyer were again nervous, however, suspecting an attempt at a plea bargain. But it was not forthcoming. His hearing lasted a little over 30 minutes and the judges dismissed the case, clearing him of the charges. Mr Zampa is now suing the Spanish authorities for damages. His lawyer says there is a well-established system of compensation which should award him around €170 for each day he spent in prison, besides covering for the legal fees incurred.
"It's little consolation really but at least the suit will pay for the lawyer's fees and will help me take it easy while I rebuild my life here," he said.
While going through the whole ordeal, he seems strangely at peace about it all but there is something that clearly still gets to him.
"Frankly, I can understand the police, they had this tip off which helped them catch a trafficker... they had little time to act and they decided that it would better to hold me and check details later. But I still cannot get over the fact that someone would implicate me in something like this."
He has his suspicions, but adds: "I have nothing in hand, save for suspicions."