A man who was caught selling drugs outside the Detox Centre in Gwardamangia in 2006 has been jailed for two-and-a-half years and fined €2,000.

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia jailed Silvano Cilia, 40, from Safi, after hearing how he was caught red handed selling drugs outside the Detox Centre, a place frequented by drug users.

The court heard how the police were monitoring the centre at around 6am on October 22, 2006, when they saw the accused speaking to someone. When he saw the police, he chucked a foil container to the ground. Inside it, the police found nine sachets with a brown substance found to be heroin.

During his interrogation, Mr Cilia told the police that he had been abusing of drugs for five years but had managed to stop and started abusing of heroin eight months before he was caught. For about four months before his arrest, he went regularly to the Detox Centre for methadone.

Court experts told the court that the nine sachets found in his possession had a total weight of 1.46 grams of heroin. Six of the nine sachets had equal weights of 0.2 grams, the usual dose of a heroin addict.

Magistrate Farrugia noted how Mr Cilia had no less than 12 convictions on his record, three of which were over aggravated theft, one for assaulting the police, slightly injuring a police officer and grievously injuring another man. Despite being given several chances to reform, Mr Cilia never took the opportunity, the court said.

He was therefore jailed for two-and-a-half years and fined €2,000. He was also given six months to pay €460 in court expenses.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti prosecuted.