Court hands 18-month jail term to man caught selling cannabis in Paceville

A man who offered cannabis to an undercover officer near Paceville nightclubs has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined €500 after pleading guilty to drug charges.  

An undercover operation by police in Paceville revealed a group of people allegedly working together to sell illicit substances to club-goers. Aseyr Ahmed Mustafa, arrested during the operation, was found with cannabis and pleaded guilty to drug-related charges.

An inspector recalled how on 30 November, other police officers and himself were conducting surveillance operations within the vicinities of popular nightclubs in Paceville, where they had noted several “dark-skinned individuals” who were interacting with club-goers and selling illicit substances.

The inspector described a theory that they had devised on how individuals would work as a group to sell the substances. “One person would persuade club-goers to buy substances. After, a second individual would process the payment for the substances. Finally, a third individual, at a different location, would provide the club-goers with the substances,” he told the court.

Whilst surveilling the night-club area, Aseyr Ahmed Mustafa offered the undercover police officer a substance. The police officer immediately informed the man that Mustafa is under arrest, and after conducting a search on his person, they discovered a packet of cannabis.

The man pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. 

The Court, presided by Magistrate Jean Paul Grech, sentenced the man to 18 months of imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of €500.

Lawyer Daniel Tabone of the Attorney General’s office and Inspector John Leigh Howard led the prosecution.