A case involving an alleged theft in 1989 was thrown out by the courts.

Two men, Emmanuel Pace and Paul Sammut were charged wth stealing over LM1000 worth of toys from a Marsa warehouse in 1989 and first appeared in court in 1992.

Both men were also charged with handling stolen goods, with Mr Pace also accused of recidivism.

The toys were spotted on a Marsaxlokk market stall in 1990 and Mr Sammut was arrested. They were spotted by Tradeways Ltd Director Robert Abela, who claimed that he was the sole importer of the items. This sparked the whole investigation.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras who began hearing the case in 2013, stated that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the toys were stolen by the two accused.

Lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha appeared for the two men.