Jailed three months, fined €4,000 over possessing 595 ecstacy pills

Jeffrey Savage, 39 of Mtarfa, but residing in Pembroke was handed a three month jail term and fined €4,000, after a Magistrate found him guilty of aggravated possession of ecstacy pills.

Savage , who was acquitted of criminal association and trafficking charges, was arrested on January 28, 2003 when police acted on a tip-off that a drug deal was set to happen in a hotel in St. Julian's.

A search conducted at Savage's home in Pembroke yielded the ecstacy find, and while under arrest, the suspect agreed to a 'controlled-delivery' to the alleged buyers.

During the same investigations, Police had arrested Anthony Portelli who had been to Malta on holiday, who was found to have in his possession 14 ecstacy pills and 35 grammes of cannabis resin. He was arrested together with another man, identified as Glenn Gorman.

Both Portelli and Gorman, who reside in Britain had told the police that they bought the drugs from Savage.

All three were kept under preventive arrest at Corradino Prisons, and Savage alleged that he was threatened by Gorman and Portelli.

Savage later told police that the drugs belonged to Gorman who went to his house and left the drugs there. Once they were seized by the Police, Gorman threatened Savage that he was to be held responsible for them, because they belonged to an international syndicate which would come after him.

Savage added that he had also received a phone call from a certain 'Alex' who threatened to kill him unless he made good for the drugs.

While in jail, unknown persons had forced themselves into Savage's apartment in Pembroke, ransacking the place and put more pressure on him to pay up for the drugs the police had seized.

Because of the threats, Savage went into a depression, attempted suicide  and spent months at Mount Carmel Hospital.