Two men have been jailed by a magistrate in Gozo after admitting to selling drugs to young people nine years ago.

Josef Cefai, 28, of Zebbuġ, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment and fined €1,500 after admitting to being in possession and selling ecstasy on and before August 2008.

Another man, who was just 17 at the time and whose name therefore cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, was jailed for six months and fined €1,000 after admitting to being in possession and selling drugs, as well as being in unlawful possession of a weapon, being in possession of protected birds and taking part in illegal hunting.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud said the court had noted the early guilty plea of the accused, the time that had passed since the cases took place, the fact that the two were now living a stable life and were drugs free. Furthermore,  the breaches of the hunting laws were made before the laws were changed.

He said the punishment was not there for society to be vindictive but to restore the social fabric and help the guilty to reform, while protecting society. 

The magistrate quoted speeches by Pope France, Bishop Mario Grech and President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca on the need for ‘justice of reconciliation’ and ‘justice of hope’