Malta is ‘bursting with cocaine,' Fenech Adami tells parliament

Nationalist Party MP Beppe Fenech Adami said Malta is “bursting with cocaine” after Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield claimed that only 500 people in the country use the drug.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Fenech Adami described Bedingfield’s remarks as “insensitive,” warning that they risk normalising cocaine use by downplaying the scale of the problem.

He noted that 500 people reportedly sought treatment for cocaine addiction at Caritas, a figure he said is completely incompatible with Bedingfield’s claim. 

Fenech Adami pointed to a separate statistic indicating that around 5,000 people use cocaine regularly, while a European report had ranked Malta as the third-worst EU member state for drug-induced deaths.

“Anyone with eyes understands this country is bursting with drugs,” he said.

Replying on behalf of Bedingfield, Lands Minister Owen Bonnici said the police corps had performed well in operations targeting drug trafficking, with large amounts of cocaine seized last year.

However, he did not answer PN MP Adrian Delia’s request for information on how much of the seized cocaine was intended for the local market.

Bonnici praised the government for introducing a number of mechanisms targeting drug trafficking and rehabilitation, saying these had encouraged more people to seek treatment and consequently increased the number of people turning to Caritas.

He also claimed that United Nations studies indicate that Malta’s drug situation is better than that of other countries, while insisting that even one person struggling with drug addiction represents a failure for every MP.

Bonnici concluded by calling for maturity in tackling Malta’s drug problem, saying the discussion should focus on solutions rather than accusations.