Reformed heroin addict was used as ‘tester’ by father who sold drugs

In one of the first decisions taken under the recently introduced Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act, a man has been handed a suspended sentence for trafficking heroin, after succeeding in overcoming his addiction, which began when his father used to “test” drugs on him, as a child.

St Julian's resident Malcolm Tanti, 43, was arrested in 2009 whilst in the act of handing over a package of the drug to a third party. Drug trafficking carries with it a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.

The case had started being heard in 2012 and had been transferred to a different magistrate, before Tanti filed his guilty plea in late October this year. Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, who had dealt with the case since 2015, observed that the man had a chequered past featuring multiple previous convictions for theft, damage to property and falsification of documents, as well as for heroin possession and trafficking. For these crimes he had been fined, given suspended and custodial prison sentences. He was on probation at the time of his arrest.

But on the other hand, the court also noted that it was clear that the accused had made great strides in his life, with professional help and “serious dedication on his part”, having stayed clean since 2013, apart from two small relapses in 2016 and 2017.

“When taking into account his long history of serious drug abuse, as well as the piteous situation that he found himself in - suffice to say that his father would use him to test the drugs he was about to sell - certainly this shows great effort and genuine dedication on the part of the accused and truly satisfactory progress.”

The court also factored in that the the man’s crimes were principally attributable to his dependence on illicit narcotics - he was using three packets of heroin a day at the time of the offence.

In terms of the new Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment) Act, once the court is satisfied that the crimes which the accused is being found guilty of were principally attributable to his drug dependence, the court must refrain from applying the minimum mandatory prison sentence or excluding probation or suspension of the term of imprisonment.

In light of his particular circumstances, the court said it felt a suspended sentence would be the ideal punishment, handing him a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, together with a €1,200 fine.

Lawyer Kathleen Grima was defence counsel.