The police used a special app to locate an iPad that had been stolen and found it in the hands of a couple who bought it from the thief. They were yesterday jailed for five months.

The court heard how Francois Ellul, 21, and Rowena Garcia, 23, purchased the iPad, worth some €800, from Renaldo Rotin, soon after he had stolen it from Paul Apap Bologna’s car on January 18, 2012.

Police Inspector Saviour Baldacchino testified that Mr Apap Bologna filed a report at Sliema police station that his iPad had gone missing from his vehicle.

The police traced the tablet through its own GPS location which showed the iPad was outside the Detox Centre at St Luke’s Hospital. When the police went there, they found Mr Ellul and Ms Garcia in their car playing around with the device.

They told the police they had just bought it from Mr Rotin who was separately charged and admitted to the theft.

Mr Rotin also testified, explaining that he had stolen the tablet and sold it to Mr Ellul for €100. Ms Garcia was with him at the time and he had met them while at a bus stop.

He said he told them the iPad had been stolen and that he agreed to meet them later to get paid. He said he never received any money because the couple were arrested in the meantime.

Magistrate Claire-Louise Stafrace found the couple guilty of handling stolen goods and since they were both also charged with relapsing, she jailed them for five months each. They have appealed the sentence.

Lawyers David Gatt and Arthur Azzopardi appeared for the accused.