Ghanian jailed, fined for cannabis trafficking

A man from Ghana has been sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and fined €750 after he admitted to charges of trafficking cannabis.

Inspector Pierre Grech had told the court how Joseph Boatimah was apprehended in the act of passing two packets containing cannabis to a third party, a certain Razvan-Claudiu Dobritanu, on 27 October last year.

Dobritanu was produced as a witness and testified that he had bought the cannabis from the accused for €30.

In awarding punishment, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras noted that in spite of the accused’s admission of guilt, he had taken a long time to file this plea, doing so after the prosecution had presented all of its evidence.

“In the opinion of the court, the prosecution had already proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, not least because the accused was caught by the police in the act of passing on the drugs to a third party.

"In spite of his admission in the sitting held on the 19 December 2014, the accused still wasted court time and police resources and therefore the admission does not merit any reduction in punishment.”

In addition to the sentence and fine, Boatimah was also ordered to pay the expenses of the case, amounting to €548.