A 25-year-old police constable from Zurrieq has been charged with stealing a Global Positioning System (GPS) from a boat carrying irregular immigrants last year.

The constable, whose name cannot be published by court order, pleaded not guilty to stealing the navigational system from a boat carrying irregular immigrants on 27 October.

Before magistrate Antonio Mizzi, the police officer also denied handling stolen items and committing a crime that he was duty bound to prevent.

Police inspector Mario Haber prosecuted and Dr Franco Debono appeared for the police constable.