MALTA (28 Dec 2005) -- The police have filed charges against six expert divers accusing them of stealing and destroying priceless underwater heritage from Maltese territorial waters, in the first ever case of marine heritage pilfering to end up in a Maltese court.

The accused face a maximum six years imprisonment sentence and a fine of between Lm500 and Lm50,000.

The case is expected to start being heard in January following months of wide-ranging investigations by the police Cultural Heritage Crimes Unit and the superintendence of cultural heritage, as reported last September when the first suspects were arrested following raids on private collectors and a scuba diving shop.

The suspects, who include two foreigners, stand accused of looting heritage items from Malta's seabed, some of them dating back to the Roman period.

They are also charged with holding illegal exploration for national heritage which would require a special licence, illegally removing the discovered artefacts without a permit from the heritage authorities, failing to report their discoveries to the authorities, and damaging and destroying heritage items.

Their arrests earlier this year had sent shockwaves among the diving community used to "taking souvenirs" from deepwater wrecks, although the accused were notorious among divers for their unrestrained looting for business.