Agreed to sell stolen property

A man admitted he knew that two coffee machines he agreed to sell could have been stolen.

Sandro Degabriele, 31, of Cospicua, was jailed for 13 months for handling stolen property after he was also found guilty of relapsing.

He was actually in prison when the two machines, together with other catering equipment worth €16,310 in all, were stolen from Għajn Tuffieħa in 2007, the court heard. Soon after he got out of jail, another man, known as Joe Il-Mekkanik, asked him to sell the machines for him and he took them.

The owner of the items, Emmanuel Borg, received information about Mr Degabriele in April 2008 and went along to investigate. He found Mr Degabriele with the machines inside his garage and the accused handed them back to him while promising to try and help find the other missing items.

At this point the police were informed and investigated the case.

In a police statement, Mr Degabriele admitted knowing that the machines could have been stolen when he agreed to sell them. It was on the strength of that statement that Magistrate Edwina Grima found him guilty of handling stolen property.

Police Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Jesmond Micallef prosecuted.