A young man facing cocaine-related charges has been acquitted after a court found that the prosecution had not even confirmed that the substance seized was actually the drug.

Amor Mouldi, 27, had been arrested on Christmas Eve in 2008 after police caught him and another Maltese man with two sachets of white powder, which they suspected was cocaine.

The latter had told the police that the substance had been handed over to him by Mr Mouldi, who was subsequently charged with the illegal possession and supply of cocaine.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras noted several shortcomings which had marked the investigation and prosecution.

Mr Mouldi had not been granted the right to consult a lawyer before as well as during his interrogation by the police, meaning his statement was inadmissible as evidence, the court declared.

The prosecution had also failed to notify Mr Mouldi of the date of hearing and had not summoned Paul Mifsud, the man who had been in his company at the time of the arrest, to testify.

Nor had the suspected drug been tested to confirm that it was actually cocaine, the court observed.

Furthermore, proceedings had been instituted in April 2014 - more than 6 years after the incident and well beyond the five-year prescriptive period relative to the offence of illegal drug possession.

For these reasons, the court fully acquitted the accused. Lawyer Edward Gatt was defence counsel.