Two men jailed for 16 years, fined €40,000 for importing 18kg of cannabis on fishing boat

Two men have been handed long jail sentences for importing 18 kilogrammes of cannabis on a fishing boat.

Keith Barbara, 30, of Birgu and Silvio Apap, 37, from Xghajra were sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and fined €40,000 each after they pleaded guilty of the charges of conspiracy to traffic cannabis, importation of cannabis and possession of cannabis and aggravated possession of cannabis.

They had been arrested in January last year after Drug Squad officers searched a fishing vessel called “Madonna taz-Zejt”, owned by Barbara, which had been berthed at Marsaxlokk. The police had discovered 18kg of cannabis resin inside a picnic cooler on board the boat.

Despite entering an early guilty plea before magistrate Francesco Depasquale, he had ruled that the amount of drugs found required the case to be decided by a jury.

After the jury had adjudged them to be guilty of the charges, Judge Michael Mallia handed down the sentence. In addition to the jail term, the judge ordered the confiscation of all fixed, movable and liquid assets belonging to the two men.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Mario Spiteri represented the accused.