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MT 11 May 2017

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maltatoday, THURSDAY, 11 MAY 2017 News 8 MAT THEW AGIUS A 19-year-old factory worker arrested with 31 sachets of drugs in his car is to be sen- tenced on Monday after he pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of cocaine and crack cocaine. Before magistrate Char- maine Galea, inspector Jef- frey Scicluna yesterday ex- plained how Aidan Bartolo was arrested just after mid- night on Monday in Floriana. Police in a passing patrol car had noticed the accused talk- ing on his mobile phone in a car. His body language raised suspicion and police tried to stop him, but the man drove off, running a red light in the process, before being ar- rested a few hundred metres down the road. Five mobile phones were found in Bartolo's car, to- gether with 31 sachets on his person, the inspector said. 12 sachets contained what police suspect to be cocaine, with the rest thought to con- tain crack cocaine. Bartolo, who is just a month shy of his 20th birthday, is understood to have been con- victed of theft in November and had been out on bail in connection with a second robbery a month later. He had been jailed for two weeks in February for failing to abide by his bail conditions and had served this sentence. Charges of breaching bail and committing an offence during the operative period of a suspended sentence were also issued against the youth. After consulting with the defendant, defence law yer Veronique Dalli entered a guilty plea on behalf of the 19-year-old. She asked for the release of the vehicle, which belonged to the accused's fa- ther. The police did not ob- ject to this request. Dalli took issue with the prosecution's suggestion that the accused had not coop- erated with the police. The law yer argued that there were some questions that he didn't want to answer. "He was cor- dial, didn't resist arrest and cooperated with the court. I'm not condoning what he did, but just because he didn't answer two or three ques- tions, this doesn't mean that he didn't cooperate with the police." The court announced that it would be passing sentence on Monday, until which time the accused would be held at a young offenders facility. Dean Hili is also appearing for the accused. istro Youth arrested with 31 bags of cocaine admits to aggravated possession Five mobile phones were found in Bartolo's car, together with 31 sachets on his person

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