Updated - Italian couple Bruno Gionatta, 28, and Valeria Puglia, 26, admitted in court today to having tried to sell false gold to Vascas Jewellery of Valletta.

They were condemned to a two-year jail term suspended for four years after declaring that they had returned the €4,700 paid for the false gold.

During the proceedings the court heard that the two are also undergoing usury proceedings in Italy.

The two were arrested just as they were about to leave Malta on Tuesday evening.

They had sold items that included rings, chokers, necklaces and bracelets. But when the shop assistants tested the jewellery they realised it was made of stainless steel and not white gold.

The police arrested the couple as they were at the airport waiting to catch a flight to Rome.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.