Taxi driver jailed over cannabis resin found hidden in petrol cap

Antonio Frendo, 61, from Birkirkara, who previously worked as a taxi driver, has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment and fined €950 after being found guilty of being in possession of cannabis in his petrol cap.

He was found guilty of being in possession of the drug in circumstances that denote it was not for his personal use.

The incident took place on New Year’s Eve 2009. Police noticed a taxi stationed outside a popular bar in Paceville and carried out a search on the vehicle. A preliminary search did not yield any results, however due to a tip received by another police officer, the search continued more extensively. Following a search of the vehicle’s fuel cap, three packets of cannabis resin were found.

As a result of this, the accused who is also the driver of the vehicle was held under arrest and placed under investigation. A quantity of money was also found, however it was not proven whether this came from any illicit reasons or not.

The cannabis resin, otherwise known as hash, was found in three separate packets, of moreor-less equal weight and was wrapped up in foil. The net weight of the drugs lifted was 13.36g.

Mr Frendo admitted that the drugs belonged to him but denied that it was for the purposes of trafficking, insisting that it was only for personal use.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, presiding over the case, was sceptical of this denial, noting that usually a joint contains some 0.2g, however the amount found on Mr Frendo could make up to 66 joints. She also noted that the way in which the drugs were found, in three packets of almost identical weight, would denote that it is not for personal use.

Magistrate Galea Sciberras pointed out several inconsistencies in the accused’s testimony, such as first alleging that the drugs were hidden in the petrol cap in order to keep them safe, then he said that it was to hide them from his girlfriend.

The accused said that the drugs had ended up in his possession because two Italian nationals had paid him for a cab ride in that way, and then said that he had actually bought the cannabis off them.

In taking considerations to pass judgement, the Magistrate found that the accused had been found guilty over several traffic violations, corrupting minors, false testimony and breaking VAT-related laws.

In the light of this, he was found guilty and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.