A young Nigerian man has been sentenced to nine years in prison over the importation of 3kgs of cannabis into Malta and fined €20,000.

Shaibu Mohamad was 21 years old when he came to Malta via a flight from Rome on 22nd December, 2018. Customs officials’ suspicions were aroused by the man, and after searching him, they found three packets of cannabis. Testing found the plant to be 20% pure.

He was arrested, and charged in court with the importation, possession and association with the intent to traffic drugs.

Before standing trial, Mohamad pleaded guilty to the charges, saying he only did what he did because he needed money for family reasons – he needed the money to help his mom who was dying.

Crying in court, Mohamad said he had had the time to think about what he did while in jail over the last four years.

However, Judge Aaron Bugeja said that if he really wanted to help his mother, he wouldn’t have turned to crime. He was then sentenced to nine years in prison.