Harsh sentence for man who admitted to cocaine trafficking

A man who admitted to importing almost a kilogramme of cocaine, in order to avoid a trial by jury and possible life sentence, has been jailed for nine years and fined €23,500 this morning.

Darren Aquilina and a Sicilian man by the name of Alberto Bafumi were accused of importing 97 capsules of cocaine 2007. Aquilina, who was 22 at the time, had known Bafumi for some time before, Bafumi having sold him cocaine in December 2006.

On this occasion, Aquilina had provided Bafumi with approximately €50,000 to procure the drugs from abroad. The drugs were then stashed in a San Gwann flat, which both men had the keys to.

Aquilina was indicted on charges of associating with another person to traffic a dangerous drug, procuring or providing cocaine and being in possession of 955 grammes of cocaine.

The two men had been charged separately and Bafumi had been found guilty and condemned to nine years’ incarceration and fined in separate proceedings, confirmed on appeal.

Aside from the nine-year sentence, Aquilina was fined €23,500 and ordered to pay the costs of the case, which amounted to nearly €4000. Failure to pay the fine punctually would result in an additional year’s imprisonment. In addition to this, all of his fixed and liquid assets were confiscated in favour of the government.

Aquilina had argued that he had played a minor role in the crime and ought to receive a lighter sentence but Judge Michael Mallia disagreed, saying that both Bafumi and Aquilina had been charged with the same crimes, including conspiracy to import the drugs and deserved the same treatment.