Suspected drug dealer pleads not guilty

A man has been remanded in custody after being charged with dealing various illegal drugs.

Abdi Ali Jama, 33, from Somalia, who told the court he had no fixed address, was arraigned before magistrate Victor Axiak on charges of selling cannabis, cannabis resin, as well as supplying cocaine and ecstasy.

He was also accused of possession of the drugs and with the theft of a mobile phone on 20 July, using force against its owner, leading an idle and vagrant life, disturbing the peace and committing an offence during the operative period of a judgment issued on 12 July. He was also accused of recidivism.

No details as to the circumstances of the man’s crimes or his arrest emerged in the sitting today, but Jama has a history of drug-related trouble with the law. He was jailed in 2016 for trying to sell drugs to plainclothes officers and charged again a year later after he was caught with drugs once again.

Defence lawyer Joe Bonnici, appointed as legal aid to the accused, entered a plea of not guilty. Bail was not requested at this stage and the man was remanded in custody.

Inspector Matthew Grech prosecuted.