Court frees Zejtun man of 2004 drug possession after prosecution fails to confirm illegality of substances

A man from Zejtun has been declared innocent of charges issued in 2004 relating to drug possession, because of a lackadaisical prosecution which not only summoned just three witnesses in nine years, but also failed to confirm that the substance was illicit.

Adrian Abela had been just 18 when he was charged with possession and trafficking of cannabis in 2004. Proceedings started three years later, in 2007.

Investigations started after the his father found what he suspected to be cannabis resin wrapped in tissue paper in a pocket of one of his son’s jackets and went to the police.

Abela was promptly arrested and had released a statement to the police the next day, having received no legal advice.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras noted that the right to consult with a lawyer prior to interrogation had not yet been introduced at that time.

Despite this, the court held that his statement was inadmissible, because this practice had been declared by the European Court of Human Rights as breaching the right to a fair trial – a stance that was subsequently also adopted by the Constitutional Court and Court of Criminal Appeal in several of its judgements.

With the statement discarded and the police's case now bereft of any evidence supporting the charges, the court had no option but to dismiss the case.

Despite court proceedings having been ongoing for almost a decade, only three witnesses had testify and the accused's father had not been among them.

Neither had the substances been exhibited in court or independently tested: “The court doesn't have much to say about the evidence, or rather the lack thereof, produced,” the unimpressed Magistrate remarked as she cleared the accused of the charges.

The prosecuting police inspector was not clearly identified in the sentence.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Angie Muscat were defence counsel.