After a 34-year wait, drug-related proceedings declared time-barred

Proceedings over drug-related charges against a now 61-year-old man have been declared time-barred by a Magistrates’ Court, 34 years after they started. Raymond Walsh had been 26 when charges were first instituted against him in April 1984 over the alleged possession and cultivation of cannabis after a search at the man’s Sliema home. During the search, officers had discovered a small potted cannabis plant, cannabis seeds, a small set of weighing scales and other drug paraphernalia. Scientific experts had reported that some 1,600 cannabis seeds, weighing 19.8 grams, had been handed over to them for testing. Following a sitting on June 20, 1984, the accused never appeared in court, prompting an arrest warrant in August that same year. But the warrant could not be enforced since the accused had absconded from the island. Thirty-four years later, the man was traced and brought back to Malta to face justice in terms of an extradition request originally issued in December 1984. When proceedings continued before the court, presided over by magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, it was observed that as the law had stood prior to 2002, prescription would continue to run in respect of...