Man, 19, charged with drug trafficking just days after getting suspended sentence

Gordon Micallef, from Victoria, Gozo, had been arrested on Christmas eve after being found to be in possession of 87 ecstasy pills and three sachets of cocaine

A troubled 19-year-old has appeared in court this afternoon, charged with having trafficked drugs, not ten days after he had been handed a suspended sentence for theft.

Inspector Nicolai Sant told magistrate Francesco Depasquale how Gordon Micallef, from Victoria, Gozo, had been arrested on Christmas eve after being found to be in possession of 87 ecstasy pills and three sachets of cocaine. He had been on police bail since then.

The heavily tattooed accused, who works as a plasterer, pleaded not guilty to charges of ecstasy trafficking, possession of ecstasy in circumstances denoting that it was not for his personal use, and cocaine possession. He also admitted to breaching the conditions imposed by a previous court sentence and to committing the crimes within 100m from a school or club frequented by youths.

Defence lawyer Robert Galea requested bail, explaining that the incident had taken place on Christmas Eve. The fact that Micallef was being arraigned over a month after the event showed that the police also considered him to be trustworthy, argued the lawyer.

But Micallef narrowly escaped not being granted bail at all, when he failed to remember his Maltese address, having also lost his ID card. Luckily for the accused, the court eventually obtained the required information from the ID card details listed on the accused's charge sheet.

Galea asked the court to bear in mind the accused's dire economic straights when fixing bail conditions. The accused claimed to be practically penniless.

In view of this, the court granted him bail against a deposit of €500 and an exorbitant personal guarantee of €10,000. After explaining to the somewhat concerned accused that he would only be required to pay the guarantee if he committed another crime whilst on bail, the accused briefly left the courtroom and returned with a wad of notes for the deposit.