Crates with very ripe tomatoes at a time of year when the locally-grown species was still immature was a crucial element which ultimately led to the conviction of two Mellieħa farmers with fraud.

A court yesterday sentenced Joseph Attard, 55, and his business partner, Joseph Galea, 56, to 12 months in prison suspended for three years. The two men were found guilty of claiming government subsidies on locally-grown tomatoes, when in actual fact they had imported them from Sicily.

While the amount of subsidy is believed to have been as low as €100, the exact figure could not be calculated as no records were found at the Agriculture Department, the court heard.

The case dates back to November 2003 when the two men delivered 25 crates of tomatoes at Ta’ Qali market, where imported produce was banned. These tomatoes had immediately caught the eye as normally Maltese-grown tomatoes are still immature at that time of year. Back then local producers were eligible for EU-funded government subsidies on local produce.

The court noted that following an analysis on a number of samples it was clear that the tomatoes had been imported, probably from Sicily and disguised as local to claim subsidies.

However, due to the fact that the fraud involved small amounts of money and had happened a decade before, it opted for a suspended sentence.

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