Two men acquitted of 2000 cash van hold-up

Two men accused of stealing over €2.4 million in a hold-up of a cash van in Sta Venera in 2000 were acquitted on Thursday.

Joseph Grech, 49, from Mosta, and Valletta resident George Briffa, 35, had been charged with a number of offences relating to an armed robbery from a Group 4 armoured van in Cannon Road, Sta Venera shortly after it had picked up cash from an HSBC branch.

The robbers blocked the van's path with a car and transferred the cash it had been carrying into a waiting van, which was later found to have also been stolen.

The money was eventually recovered.

Grech and Briffa were arrested and charged after traces of their DNA were found on balaclavas which had been recovered from the same place as the stolen cash.

The court said it had found insufficient evidence for a conviction.

Dr Joe Giglio and Dr Kathleen Grima were defence counsel to Grech and Briffa.