Court hands 21-year-old two-year prison term for drug driving, bail breaches

A 21-year-old man from Marsaskala has been handed a two-year prison sentence for driving under the influence of drugs and breaching multiple bail conditions.

Stoyan Gafa admitted to charges related to a four-vehicle collision that occurred shortly after midnight on 11 February.

Gafa, who was driving a Mercedes, was involved in a crash with three other vehicles, including a Transport Malta car and a Peugeot, a Ford, and a BMW. 

The Transport Malta vehicle belonged to officials who were carrying out their duties in preparation for maintenance work to be carried out. The other vehicles belonged to the maintenance workers.

Gafa was also charged with causing injuries of slight nature to one official, while another official suffered grievous injuries.

Gafa’ was already facing several serious accusations prior to this latest incident. On 24 December 2025, he was allegedly involved in a fatal accident in St Julian’s that caused the death of 31-year-old Colombian national Angie Marlen Mesa Gonzalez.

In that case, he was charged with driving his father’s car without insurance while under the influence of cannabis. Furthermore, the prosecution noted he was involved in another collision on 20 December and a separate incident in Marsaskala where a person was seriously injured, both occurring while he was allegedly driving without insurance.

Inspectors Clive Abela and Nathan Bugeja led the prosecution, while Gafa’ was represented by legal aid lawyer Nadia Fiott.

Magistrate Monica Vella presided over the case.