A 20-year-old man who was caught trafficking drugs within days of having been given a conditional discharge by a court, has been sentenced to jail for 16 months and fined €2,300. He was also jailed for a further 20 months in a separate case and had €10,500 confiscated.

Gordon Micallef, of Victoria, Gozo, pleaded guilty to trafficking ecstasy pills after 83 pills were found in his possession in a Paceville bar.

He also pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine. Police had found the man in possession of three packets of white powder. During police questioning he had said he was in possession of cocaine and handed the packets to the police.

He however denied taking or trafficking cocaine, saying he had never taken the drug before.

A court expert subsequently had testified that the white powder found in the packets was not cocaine.

Therefore, the court said, despite his admission, it could not find the accused guilty of this charge.

Earlier in the day, Mr Micallef was sentenced to a further 20 months in jail and fined €2,000 over a separate case where he was found in possession of 73 ecstasy pills.

The court also ordered the confiscation of €10,500 held on deposit when he was granted bail in a separate court case. 

Correction: This article was amended at 4.25pm to reflect the correct jail term the accused was sentenced to.