Two drones, a hearing aid, a butcher’s knife and even a juice extractor were among some of the unusual items which in recent weeks were handed over to the police by law-abiding citizens.

The temptation to have them for keeps must have been stronger for those who reported the discovery of expensive items like high-end smartphones, digital cameras, electronic tablets, wallets with money, jewellery and even a laptop computer.

These objects were among a long list of articles published in the Government Gazette in line with a provision of Article 564 of the Civil Code.

This states that any person who finds a movable thing, not being a treasure trove (money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground, or in places such as cellars or attics, whose owner is presumed dead and their heirs untraceable) is bound to restore it to its previous owner, if known. Otherwise, the person finding this object is bound to deliver it to the police, who shall publish a full list of these lost items in the Government Gazette. Nevertheless, such a measure is hard to enforce meaning that more often than not the onus rests on the finder to report the discovery.

If, however, these objects are not claimed even after a second notice is published following a three-month period from the first, they shall automatically become property of their finders.

The law also states that if the owner turns up to claim the lost item, he must pay the finder a reward whose value must not exceed one-tenth of the object in question. If within the lapse of six months of the first notice neither the finder nor the owner claims the article, such thing will become property of the State.