Teen jailed for 39 months after admitting to cocaine possession

A 19-year-old man from Ghaxaq has been jailed for 39 months and fined €2,000 after he admitted to possession of 31 sachets of cocaine and breaching court orders.

Factory worker Aidan Bartolo had been arrested on 10 May after being stopped by police, who had noticed the accused talking on his mobile whilst driving.

During his arraignment earlier this month, the youth had pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of cocaine, breaching bail conditions and committing an offence during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

Magistrate Charmaine Galea had heard inspector Jeffrey Scicluna explain how Aidan Bartolo had driven off when he had noticed the police, running a red light in the process, before being arrested a few hundred metres down the road.
 Five mobile phones had been found in Bartolo's car, together with 31 sachets on his person, the inspector had told the court. 12 sachets contained what police suspect to be cocaine, with the rest thought to contain crack cocaine.

Bartolo, who was just a month shy of his 20th birthday when he was arrested, had been convicted of theft in November and had been out on bail in connection with a second robbery a month later.
The court took the previous opportunities he had been given into consideration when passing sentence on the youth.

Although his criminal record was relatively clear and the accused was just 19 years old, the amount of cocaine found on him “was not negligible.”

Bartolo was jailed for 24 months, to which his now-reactivated 15 month sentence was added, bringing the total sentence to 39 months. He was also fined €2,000 and had his €1,300 bail deposit and personal guarantee confiscated.