Two gas distributors were this morning granted bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000 after they pleaded not guilty to stealing €10,000 worth of gas cylinders from Gasco Energy Ltd.

Fernando Cremona, 34, of Zejtun and Raymond Sarcia, 51, of Qormi pleaded not guilty to misappropritation, defrauding the company, falsification of documents and stealing cylinders.

In pleas on bail, defence lawyer Joseph Giglio said that the fact that a third man who was a Gasco employee had been sentenced should not impede the court from granting bail because his clients could not tamper with evidence.

The third man, Roderick Camilleri, had been given a two year jail term suspended four years for similar charges.