A man has been cleared of stealing several paintings worth millions of liri, including one by Caravaggio, after a magistrate ruled that the police had not managed to establish a link between the accused and the stolen works of art.

Ian Farrugia, from Birkirkara, was charged with stealing the paintings from the house of Mr Justice Giovanni Bonello in Old Bakery Street, Valletta, in April 2004. The paintings were discovered by the police behind a false wall in a garage in Birkirkara and one was found inside a house close to the garage.

The stolen paintings formed part of a larger collection of paintings that were going to be sold abroad. The thief or thieves managed to dig a hole through a wine cellar and

the theft remained unnoticed for several weeks.

Handing down his judgement, magistrate Anthony Vella ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a link between the forensic evidence in its possession and the accused. He said that the only fingerprint that matched that of the accused was found on a plastic bag used to cover the paintings, and added that anyone could have placed the bag there.

Magistrate Vella said the prosecution’s evidence left doubts which, according to the law, had to favour the accused. He said the court could not send someone to jail on the basis of probability or simply because of a suspicion.

As a result, he acquitted Mr Farrugia of all the charges brought against him.

Police Inspector Michael Mallia prosecuted while Dr Edward Gatt appeared for Mr Farrugia.