A self-confessed drug addict has been jailed and fined after admitting in court to trafficking drugs at St Francis Square, Victoria, metres away from a school and gym.

Anthony Said, a 44-year-old Gozitan, was arrested last month.

He was accused of trafficking cocaine, aggravated possession of cocaine and heroin, cannabis possession and with having allegedly committed such crimes within 100 metres of a place frequently visited by youngsters.

Mr Said admitted to the charges early in the proceedings.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, citing an Appeals’ Court judgment, observed that criminal punishment “was not society’s vendetta against the guilty person,” but was rather intended to serve multiple purposes.

Besides “repairing the social fabric, ripped apart by the criminal act,” punishment also had a reparative and reformative role.

Moreover, punishment served to protect society by ensuring that “those who posed a threat to society were kept behind bars and thus out of circulation,” thereby also sending out a clear message intended to serve as a deterrent to others, the court went on.

In the light of the particular circumstances of the case, whilst taking note of the accused’s early guilty plea as well as his addiction, the court declared him guilty, condemning him to a two-year effective jail term and a €3,000 fine.

The court finally recommended that the Director of Prisons was to afford the man all help for rehabilitation.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.