Clueless drug dealer arrested after police hear him shouting 'Do you want hashish?'

A man who loudly proclaimed to passersby that he was selling cannabis in Paceville has been charged after a passing police patrol heard his offer and arrested him.

Inspector Brian Xuereb arraigned Birkirkara resident Daud Shiek Ahmed before magistrate Victor Axiaq on Thursday morning, on charges of aggravated possession of cannabis, breaching a suspended sentence and recidivism.

Asked to explain how the arrest took place, Inspector Xuereb told the court that during the early hours of February 27, a police sergeant, who had been on a night patrol in Paceville had heard a person shout out to a passerby “do you want hashish?” in the St. Rita’s Steps area.

The police officer stopped this person, the accused, and searched him. Two packets of suspected cannabis were found in his pockets. “The amounts were small but packaged in a manner suggesting they were intended to be sold,” explained the inspector.

The 27-year-old accused, who told the court he was from Somalia, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Lawyer Charmaine Sherrett, appointed legal aid counsel to the accused, informed the court that bail was not being requested at this stage.

The court ordered the accused be remanded in custody.