An early guilty plea helped two men avoid jail, after they were charged with drug trafficking.
Alan Micallef, 35 from Birkirkara and Gordon Grech, 41 from Qormi, were facing charges of trafficking and possession of cocaine in circumstances which implied that the drug was not for their own personal use.
Mr Micallef was further charged with cannabis possession, while Mr Grech was separately charged as a recidivist.
Proceedings against the men had kicked off following their arrest on March 16 when the two had been discovered inside a Qormi garage in possession of illicit substances.
In court, the men had admitted that they were drug users who had purchased the drugs with the intention of sharing it between themselves.
Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, presiding over the proceedings, took note of the fact that the accused had fully cooperated with investigators and had entered an early guilty plea.
In the light of such circumstances, the court declared them guilty but spared them an effective jail term.
Mr Micallef was handed a 24-month conditional discharge and a fine of €800. The other accused, whose criminal record bore evidence of previous convictions, was placed under probation for 30 months and fined €750.
Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone prosecuted.
Lawyer Ishmael Psaila was defence counsel to the two men.