Relapser jailed for aggravated cocaine possession

A 52-year-old man with a history of run-ins with the law has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and fined €2,000 after he was found guilty of aggravated possession of cocaine. 

Assistant Commissioner Norbert Ciappara, prosecuting, told Magistrate Marseann Farrugia how Peter Axiak had been stopped at a roadblock in 2007. During the subsequent search, the police had recovered three plastic sachets full of a substance they suspected to be cocaine. 

Axiaq had claimed to be a drug addict and that the cocaine was solely for his personal use, saying that he would use the amount the police had found on him in four days. 

However, apart from the drugs he was also found to be carrying €407 in cash and in addition, there was the small matter of him being spotted attempting to discreetly dispose of his digital weighing scales when he realised that he was surrounded by police.

Court experts reported that the three sachets contained just under 7.5 grams of cocaine in total, telling the court that the normal dose for a drug addict would be between one and 1.5 grams a day. The amount was enough for 37 doses, they said, indicating that the amount recovered was not for his exclusive use.

Whilst acknowledging that Axiaq had made an effort to free himself from his addiction, spending a year following a drug rehabilitation programme, the court could not ignore the fact that he also had 10 previous convictions; one for cannabis possession, two for aggravated theft, one for attempted robbery, one for breaching employment legislation and five for traffic offences.