Stolen van traced within minutes

A van was found barely 10 minutes after its distraught owner informed the police it was stolen.

Sources said the white Hyundai Hiace was stolen by two men while its 39-year-old owner from Mġarr was working in his fields in Ta' Qali. When he realised that the vehicle had gone missing he desperately searched for it until he saw a police car approaching.

After the farmer explained what happened to the two policemen inside, the van's details were quickly relayed by radio to all Mobile Squad cars. Minutes later, a police car came across it in Żebbuġ and followed it to Siġġiewi, where it was stopped.

The sources said the van's driver was arrested together with another man who was following the Hyundai Hiace in a car.

Police Inspector Michael Mallia from the Criminal Investigations Department is heading investigations into the theft.

The men are expected to be arraigned in the coming days.