Two men who were accused of stealing 40 boxes of wholesale cigarettes, cash and jewellery with a total value of €71,000 after breaking into an Iklin family home have been cleared of all criminal liability.

Kevin Tabone, a 45-year old Santa Lucija resident and Johan Pace, 43, from Valletta, stood accused of aggravated theft and handling stolen property.

Pace was separately charged with recidivism.

The robbery took place in November 2015.

Subsequently, two anonymous letters were mailed to the police, saying that an eyewitness had spotted a white Mercedes Vito van near the residence on the day of the burglary.

The source spoke of two, suspicious-looking men, wearing dark clothes and hoodies, carrying boxes to the van.

Acting on that tip-off, investigators managed to trace the van, registered in the name of Tabone, one of the suspects.

Both suspects were tracked down and prosecuted.

Throughout the proceedings, the owner of the house, a cigarette wholesaler, testified that some 40 boxes of merchandise worth €50,000 had been stolen, together with €20,000 in cash.

The thieves had also made off with another €1000 in cash, belonging to his son, and jewellery belonging to his daughter.

The son testified how that morning, he had received a strange call from a man asking him for an on-site valuation at Zejtun. The son had refused the request, saying that he had work elsewhere.

Call log data had subsequently traced that call from an unregistered phone, located at Iklin and the same number had called Pace.

An eyewitness who had spotted the two suspects outside the burgled house, also testified but could not identify the men, except for their stature.

Fingerprints lifted from the scene of the crime did not match either of the accused and the stolen items were never retrieved.

When delivering judgment the court, presided over by magistrate Nadine Lia, observed that there was no forensic evidence or other specific evidence linking the accused to the theft.

Given the insufficient evidence, a conviction could only be reached through assumptions and hypothetical scenarios, said the court, pointing out that criminal intent had to be proved.

The anonymous letters had not been authenticated and could not amount to concrete proof.

Moreover, based on a long line of caselaw, the court declared the accused’s statements as inadmissible since they had not been assisted by a lawyer during interrogation.

On the basis of the evidence put forward the court acquitted the duo of the theft charges and consequently abstained on the charge of recidivism.

Inspectors Arthur Mercieca and Sandra Zammit prosecuted.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi assisted Pace, while lawyer Giannella DeMarco assisted Tabone.