A 31-year-old man from Valletta was denied bail by a magistrate's court following his arraignment for cocaine and heroin possession after being caught yesterday allegedly trying to traffic the drug in a place visited by young people.

Gilbert Busuttil, who had allegedly come clean of his drug addiction but later experienced a relapse, pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested bail.

The prosecution objected to the request and explained how the accused was allegedly caught red-handed in a hotel room in Gżira where he had spent the past couple of days in the company of friends. The room's smoke detectors had been taped over, the court was told.

The accused was not reliable since on several occasions he had failed to show up in court where he was facing separate proceedings. Moreover, the man had a tendency of hanging out with the wrong type of friends.

The defence pointed out that the accused had indeed failed to keep his court appointments since he had been undergoing treatment for cancer. Moreover, he lived with his parents and even cared for his little daughter.

The court however denied bail on the basis of the accused's lack of reliability and recommended that the prison director ought to make adequate provision for the accused during his preventive arrest so as to make sure that the man would receive all necessary help towards his rehabilitation.

Inspectors Gabriel Micallef and Jonathan Ransley prosecuted. Lawyer Yanica Bugeja was defence counsel.