Magistrate jails 16-year-old for illegal possession of shotguns

The youth, who's name cannot be published given that he is a minor and the crime was committed when he was 15, was jailed for six months and had a suspended jail term extended for another 18 months.

The youth was arrested soon after being stopped by a traffic policeman on the Marsascala by-pass while driving and talking on a cell phone. He was in the company of an 18 year-old friend.

When the youth - then 15 years old - admitted he did not have a licence, a quick search in the car yielded two shotguns, one of which had been stolen by the accused from a field earlier in the day. The other was stolen by his friend.