Technology
Teen caught with ecstasy at Paceville club in 2016 avoids jail after rehab
An 18-year-old arrested during an anti-drug sweep at a Paceville bar in 2016 has been placed on a three-year probation order after a court ruled his police statement was inadmissible and cleared him of trafficking, while convicting him of aggravated possession of ecstasy and simple possession of cocaine.
A court found an 18-year-old guilty of possessing 26 MDMA pills (20 found in his underwear at the club and six later at home) and 0.12g of cocaine, with the possession aggravated by location because the offence occurred inside a youth-frequented entertainment venue. He was acquitted of trafficking and of possessing the cannabis plant.
The court also ordered the confiscation of €275 seized on arrest, the destruction of the drugs and paraphernalia, and payment of €691.69 in expert costs.
Agius will be supervised for three years under a probation order.
Anti-drug squad officers carrying out inspections at a bar between 1am and 1:30am on 30 October 2016 stopped the accused as he exited a toilet cubicle. A frisk and strip search recovered €275 in cash, 20 blue ecstasy tablets hidden in his underwear and a packet containing white powder later confirmed as cocaine.
A subsequent search at his Zejtun residence turned up six more blue tablets in a bedroom drawer. Court-appointed pharmacist Godwin Sammut confirmed the pills contained MDMA, and the powder was cocaine.
Central to the outcome was the court’s decision to exclude the accused police statement, given on 30 October 2016 when Maltese law had not yet introduced the right to legal assistance during interrogation (which came into force on 28 November 2016).
Citing local constitutional jurisprudence and ECHR principles on the overall fairness of proceedings, the magistrate held that, given the accused young age at the time and the procedural framework then in force, the statement was inadmissible.
With the statement out, prosecutors had no direct evidence of dealing: no eyewitnesses to sales, no buyers, and no proof of distribution at the venue. The court therefore acquitted on trafficking.
On the remaining counts, the court did not accept the accused’s claim that he had bought an unusually large quantity of pills merely because he “found them cheap” and intended to consume them over the weekend.
The quantity, cash on person, concealment in underwear, and nightclub setting led the magistrate to conclude the ecstasy was not for his exclusive use, satisfying aggravated possession. The cocaine quantity supported a separate conviction for simple possession.
Earlier in the case, the court referred the accused to the Rehabilitation Board, which later informed the court that Agius had successfully completed rehabilitation. Taking into account his clean criminal record, cooperation, and reform efforts, the court opted for probation for three years rather than imprisonment.
The defence was led by lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, and Adreana Zammit. Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo presided over the case.
An 18-year-old arrested during an anti-drug sweep at a Paceville bar in 2016 has been placed on a three-year probation order after a court ruled his police statement was inadmissible and cleared him of trafficking, while convicting him of aggravated possession of ecstasy and simple possession of cocaine.
A court found an 18-year-old guilty of possessing 26 MDMA pills (20 found in his underwear at the club and six later at home) and 0.12g of cocaine, with the possession aggravated by location because the offence occurred inside a youth-frequented entertainment venue. He was acquitted of trafficking and of possessing the cannabis plant.
The court also ordered the confiscation of €275 seized on arrest, the destruction of the drugs and paraphernalia, and payment of €691.69 in expert costs.
Agius will be supervised for three years under a probation order.
Anti-drug squad officers carrying out inspections at a bar between 1am and 1:30am on 30 October 2016 stopped the accused as he exited a toilet cubicle. A frisk and strip search recovered €275 in cash, 20 blue ecstasy tablets hidden in his underwear and a packet containing white powder later confirmed as cocaine.
A subsequent search at his Zejtun residence turned up six more blue tablets in a bedroom drawer. Court-appointed pharmacist Godwin Sammut confirmed the pills contained MDMA, and the powder was cocaine.
Central to the outcome was the court’s decision to exclude the accused police statement, given on 30 October 2016 when Maltese law had not yet introduced the right to legal assistance during interrogation (which came into force on 28 November 2016).
Citing local constitutional jurisprudence and ECHR principles on the overall fairness of proceedings, the magistrate held that, given the accused young age at the time and the procedural framework then in force, the statement was inadmissible.
With the statement out, prosecutors had no direct evidence of dealing: no eyewitnesses to sales, no buyers, and no proof of distribution at the venue. The court therefore acquitted on trafficking.
On the remaining counts, the court did not accept the accused’s claim that he had bought an unusually large quantity of pills merely because he “found them cheap” and intended to consume them over the weekend.
The quantity, cash on person, concealment in underwear, and nightclub setting led the magistrate to conclude the ecstasy was not for his exclusive use, satisfying aggravated possession. The cocaine quantity supported a separate conviction for simple possession.
Earlier in the case, the court referred the accused to the Rehabilitation Board, which later informed the court that Agius had successfully completed rehabilitation. Taking into account his clean criminal record, cooperation, and reform efforts, the court opted for probation for three years rather than imprisonment.
The defence was led by lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, and Adreana Zammit. Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo presided over the case.
