Testimony from heroin buyers lands Gozitan in jail

A Gozitan drug trafficker was handed a five-year prison sentence and fine by a Magistrates’ Court, voicing concern over this vice which was wearing down society and calling upon the forces of law and order to “sweep our roads clean of those who were destroying so many families through their actions”. Joseph Bajada, the 63-year old from Xaghra, nicknamed ‘Leslies’, was investigated by the Vice Squad after a number of persons told the police how they regularly purchased drugs from the man over a decade prior to 2009. Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone from the Drugs Squad recalled in court how on one occasion, upon sighting the accused in court, he had ordered his men to arrest Mr Bajada concerning alleged heroin trafficking. During a search of the suspect’s Xaghra home, after his arrest, a packet of the suspected drug was found lying on a window sill. Police had also searched another residence in Marsalforn belonging to the accused. During proceedings against the accused for drug trafficking and aggravated possession of heroin, five persons, whose identification was banned by the court, recalled how Mr Bajada had supplied them with heroin for years. One of these explained how he...