Kevin Vella, 33, from Ibragg, was acquitted on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of making any profit from equipment that could be used for illegal ends, or of actually using the equipment himself.

The court noted that the equipment found during a police search – satellite receivers, smart cards and digital programming devices – is what one would expect to find in such an establishment, and therefore acquitted him of all charges.

The court was presided over by magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera and inspector Joseph Cordina prosecuted.