Two monti hawkers are expected to be arraigned shortly and charged with misappropriation after allegedly being found selling Playmobil figures from their stalls.

The original Playmobil figures are sold in specially made presentation boxes and many come with several accessories, such as tools or weapons. But the accessories are missing from the ones sold at the open-air markets.

Sources said police raids last Sunday at the open air markets of Valletta and Marsaxlokk turned up several of such figures in bags.

The police were reluctant to reveal the precise quantity seized but the figures are said to amount to "a few hundreds".

Toys of this type are frequently handed out to be assembled as outwork against payment by the factory, the sources said.

Playmobil belongs to the Brandstätter group that has plants in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Malta and employs close to 2,600 people, some 700 of them in Malta. A spokesman for the local company said the illicit sale of the figures was damaging the industry.

The company was also concerned about the safety of children as the figures sold at the markets were not subjected to the tough quality tests the company is renowned for.

The company spends a fortune on research and design of new toys and the mother company website states that the heart of the company is the subterranean mould warehouse protected by special security installations.