A 29-year-old man has been jailed for five months and fined €600 after he admitted to helping four young men obtain cannabis from someone he knew almost 11 years ago.

Johan Calleja admitted to trafficking in cannabis and to the possession of cannabis and heroin in May 2004. He was approached by four young men who asked him from where they could buy cannabis.

Mr Calleja took them to Cospicua, where he met a man and handed him the money given to him by the young men - Lm10 (€23) - in return for a small amount of drugs.

He then gave the cannabis to the four youngsters.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard how Mr Calleja had cooperated with the police and named the person he bought the drugs from.

She also noted that since the case happened, in May 2004, Mr Calleja had been convicted of several crimes including drug possession and theft and was currently serving a jail sentence until November 2017.

The magistrate heard a probation officer explain that Mr Calleja had a drug problem but recent urine tests taken in jail showed he was clean.

The magistrate also heard how the young man has social problems and had lost his parents and sister. This meant he had no family and, once released from jail, he would have nowhere to go.

For this reason the magistrate called on the prison director to ensure that Mr Calleja was given the support he needed while in jail to overcome his drug problem and to ensure that he had a support structure once his jail term was up.

She placed Mr Calleja under the care of a probation officer for three years - to ensure he was being followed when the time came for him to be reintegrated into society.

Police Inspector Dennis Theuma prosecuted.