A woman who was caught in 2010 sneaking €30 worth of heroin into prison by carrying it in a condom inside her private parts, has landed an effective jail term and a fine.

Maria Cassar, 27 from Birzebbugia, had testified how the 0.16 grams of heroin
had been intended for her boyfriend, Maximilian Ciantar, who at the time was an inmate in the young offenders unit (YOURS).

It was on the eve of the Sette Giugno public holiday in 2010 at around 2.30pm, that Ms
Cassar had been visiting her boyfriend when she was strip-searched by two policewomen.

The search yielded the suspected drug, stuffed inside a small ball-shaped container which had been placed inside a condom worn by the accused.

The brownish substance carried by the accused was certified as being heroin of 15% purity.

The woman had explained in court how her boyfriend had demanded the drug, handing her the contact number of the supplier and allegedly threatening her to obey his orders.

The woman had told the court how she had occasionally suffered physical abuse at the hands of Mr Ciantar, with her father also testifying that he had once noticed bruising on his daughter who, however, had said nothing about her alleged ordeal.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, observed that the nature of the accused’s wrongdoing was indeed serious since she had been trying to smuggle drugs
into prison, a place intended for reform and rehabilitation.

On the other hand, the court could not fail to observe that although the accused had not registered an admission, she had cooperated fully with investigators. Besides the amount of drugs was minimal and since that episode, the woman no longer meddled in drugs.

In the light of all circumstances, the court declared the woman guilty and condemned her to an 8-month effective jail term and a €900 fine.

Inspector Spiridione Zammit prosecuted.