Cocaine dealer guilty of trafficking, gets 14 months’ imprisonment

A Somali man who admitted to attempting to traffic cocaine in Paceville, just days after being released from prison, has been jailed for 14 months.

30-year-old Abdisalan Mahamed Afrah had been arrested on the 26 June after police on duty in Paceville had noted him behaving suspiciously.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera had heard Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone testify that a subsequent search of Afrah revealed that the man had been carrying three sachets of a substance which was suspected to be cocaine.

Afrah had told officers that he had been planning to sell the three 0.5g sachets for €50 each for €150 in total.

Afrah, who is unemployed and lives in Hal Far, admitted to trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine in circumstances denoting that he intended to traffic the drug, aggravated by the fact that he was less than 100m away from a place frequented by youths. Charges relating to the possession of cocaine without the authorisation of the health authorities and relapsing brought the tally of charges to five.

The accused had just been released from prison when he was arrested. In 2014, Afrah had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for stealing a handbag. Magistrate Scerri Herrera observed that the accused had been convicted of several thefts over a two-year period and that his stint in prison had apparently not taught him anything.

In awarding punishment, the court took into consideration the defence's submissions, his early admission and that the amount of drugs he had planned to traffic was miniscule. Afrah was condemned to 14 months’ imprisonment and fined €300. The court ordered the destruction of the drugs.