Two men were jailed for 26 years and fined
Lm38,000 between them on Thursday after admitting to drug importation,
possession ands trafficking in separate court cases. When they were detained
the men were in possession of more than a kilogram of heroin each.
33-year-old Libyan
Khaled Elhadi Elbizanti was jailed 12 years and fined Lm18,000 after admitting
to importing heroin into
Malta
between December 2005 and February 2006.
Speaking in Court, the man said he was
enticed to import and traffic the drug by an Algerian man he befriended in Malta, who paid
him for his services. However, after
travelling to and forth Malta a number of times he was detained at the Malta
International Airport in February 2006 after a substantial amount of heroin was
uncovered in his luggage.
The prosecution was led by Aaron Bugeja on
behalf of the Attorney General.
27-year-old Bigacem
Mohammed Merabet Galoul from
Algeria
was imprisoned for 14 years and handed down a
Lm20,000 fine for heroin importation and trafficking in the early months
of 2005.
The Algerian man admitted he was in contact
with third parties who supplied him with the drugs for trafficking. Mr Merabet
Galoul was paid for the four times he travelled to Malta
and he was supposed to be financially assisted to escape from the island
towards Italy.
However, Police detained him in April last year, uncovering a substantial
amount of heroin in a hotel he was residing in.
The prosecution was led by Inspector
Stephen Tonna.
Judge Joseph Galea Debono presided over
both cases.
Should the men fail to pay their fines,
they will have to serve a further 18
months in prison.
