A 53-year-old jeweller from Valletta was this morning charged with handling stolen property after he allegedly bought €350,000 worth of stolen jewellery.

The jeweller, who cannot be named by court order, is pleading not guilty.

The jewellery had been stolen from Piazza Antiques Ltd in August 2011.

Taking the witness stand, Piazza Antiques owner Alfred Borg said that in August 2011 he received a call from the police about a theft from his shop.

On arriving, he drew up a list of what was missing and gave it to the police. The value of the missing items was more than €500,000. Nothing has been recovered.

Glen Debattista, one of three people who had broken into Mr Borg’s shop, said that after the theft they (the thieves) had gone to a house and split everything between them.

He said that he sold his and his son’s share to the accused. He had gone to his shop in Birkirkara about four times. The items were taken to the jeweller in a Lidl shopping bag. He said that they had told the jeweller that the items were stolen and they were sold to him in four lots. He said that in total, they were paid some €20,000. He said that the accused would switch off the CCTV before each sale.

During the hearing, the accused could at one point be seen sniggering to himself and shaking his head.

Police Inspector Joseph Mercieca prosecuted and lawyer Michael Sciriha appeared for the accused.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona placed the accused under a bill of indictment.