Hamrun man cleared of stealing 230 exotic birds, found guilty of receiving stolen goods

An exotic bird enthusiast has been handed a suspended sentence for accepting some 230 birds which had been stolen from a farm in 2014.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke found 47-year-old Hamrun resident Stephen Naudi guilty of handling stolen goods, but declared him not guilty of theft and complicity in the theft of the Gouldian finches – a species classified as "near-threatened" – which were taken from a Bidnija farm during a break-in during the night of 14 June 2014.

The birds' rightful owner, Jean Pierre Mifsud, had told the Court how, after reporting the theft to the police, he had made enquiries with several pet shops around the island as many of his birds had identifying rings.

Ten of the birds were traced to a pet shop in San Gwann, whose owner told the police that the Gouldians had been bought Naudi. Naudi’s house was raided by the police and a further 82 of the stolen birds recovered. A number of the birds recovered had to be destroyed as they were “in a bad state.”

Naudi denied stealing the birds, saying he had purchased them for €400 from a Maltese man who had been accompanied by another man, from Syria. The defence produced the Maltese connection, a certain Nico Zammit, who denied ever selling birds to Naudi or having any Arab friends. He also described the accused as having been involved in shady dealings in the past. Another defence witness and friend of the accused, Carmelo Gatt, had testified to having heard Zammit say he had unwanted birds and offering to sell them to Naudi.

The magistrate noted that the two men's testimony contradicted the accused's version of events and had been inconsistent with each other. The accused had also contradicted himself and had given conflicting information in his police statement and deposition in court.

The absence of evidence linking the accused to the thefts proper led the court to clear him of those charges, however the court found Naudi guilty of the charge relating to receiving stolen goods, noting that he had failed to give a credible explanation of the manner in which he came by them.

Naudi was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for three years.

Inspector Nicholas Vella prosecuted.