Paul Muscat

A Gozitan part-time farmer was yesterday jailed for 18 years and fined €45,000 (Lm19,318) after a panel of jurors found him guilty to cultivating, possessing and trafficking in over 19 kilogrammes of dried cannabis leaves worth €47,100 (Lm20,220).
After five hours deliberation, the panel of jurors found Paul Muscat, 59, from Nadur, guilty by seven votes to two to cultivating cannabis in his fields at Wied Bingemma limits of Nadur Gozo. He was also found guilty by eight votes to one of trafficking in cannabis and being in possession of the drug in circumstances denoting that it was not for his personal use.
He was unanimously acquitted of associating himself with other people to traffic cannabis.
Muscat was arrested on 16 December 2003 after the police had put him under surveillance.
In handing down his judgment, Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, said he took into consideration the damage that drugs cause to society, the considerable amount of cannabis found in Muscat’s possession as well as the uniformity of penalties inflicted in similar cases.
In his submissions on penalty defense counsel Joe Brincat reminded presiding judge Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono that Muscat was boarded out of work due to his cardiac problems.
For her part, prosecutor Dr Lara Lanfranco from the Office of the Attorney General said Muscat had no qualms in trying to defend himself by throwing mud at the police. The jurors certainly did not believe his version of events, she said, as they had found him guilty.
On Tuesday, Muscat in his testimony had accused a sergeant of hitting him in the face and chest, and an inspector of threatening him and his wife.
This matter had unfortunately thrown bad light on the police force as Muscat’s version of events had been reported faithfully by the media, she said.