A 22-year-old Bulgarian woman was condemned to an effective five-month jail term for pick-pocketing today.
The arraignment followed two arrests as part of investigations following an upsurge of pick-pocketing in Valletta.
The police said that they had followed up their investigations after recently arresting two Romanians for pick-pocketing at the Valletta Waterfront.
The latest arrests were made after the suspects were seen acting suspiciously in shops in Republic and Zachary Streets in Valletta.
A search revealed that they were in possession of stolen items.
One of the suspects, Parashkeva Varbanova, 22 was arraigned and pleaded guilty in court this morning. She was jailed for five months. Another person is under arrest.
The police thanked shop owners and the banks for their cooperation.
ACCUSED COMMITS CRIMES WITHIN HOURS OF LANDING IN MALTA
During this morning's arraignment, as Ms Varbanova cried constantly, Police Inspector James Grech said that the woman had arrived in Malta at Noon last Saturday and was already trying to pick-pocket by 2.30 p.m.
On Monday the police received many reports of pick-pocketing. It resulted that some of the stolen wallets contained ATM cash cards together with PIN numbers, and the accused managed to withdraw €2,200.
The inspector said he was calling for an effective term because the Maltese people were becoming victims of Romanians and Bulgarians who came to Malta just for a week to commit crimes.
Hardworking people were losing money as a result, he said.
Legal aide Mark Mifsud Cutajar said the police inspector was exaggerating, and he also pointed out that the accused had a young son who needed an operation.
Interjecting, the inspector said the accused left Bulgaria two months ago and he doubted how much she cared about her son. "I have heard a lot of lies over the past two days," he said.
Dr Mifsud Cutajar said the accused could repay the money in a few hours.
The inspector said he had no doubt she could get the money, but not from Bulgaria, but probably from Valletta or Sliema.
While the court considered her decision, the Ms Varbanova held a photo of her alleged son facing the magistrate. When she was told she had been jailed for five months she was seen to get emotional and was calmed down by officials.