House burglar surprised . . . by a policeman’s wife

A man who unwittingly broke into a house belonging to a police sergeant and stole thousands of euro worth of items was yesterday jailed for three years after admitting to the theft. Spiridione Tanti Costa, 46 of Xgħajra, was caught red handed on...

A man who unwittingly broke into a house belonging to a police sergeant and stole thousands of euro worth of items was yesterday jailed for three years after admitting to the theft.

Spiridione Tanti Costa, 46 of Xgħajra, was caught red handed on November 17 by the policeman’s wife who returned home together with her sister to find the man in the house.

As the woman fled in fear he managed to escape. It turned out he had already visited the house in Żurrieq on a previous occasion in connection with a catering service and was traced by the police.

Mr Tanti Costa admitted to stealing some €5,000 worth of items and about €500 in cash from the house and relapsing.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud prosecuted while lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran appeared for Mr Tanti Costa.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.