Three Romanian men this afternoon pleaded guilty to stealing perfumes from shops in Valletta and St Paul's Bay.

The men, two of whom did not even have anywhere to live in Malta, pleaded guilty to the theft of perfumes from Roseberry in Republic Street and El Medina Pharmacy in Bugibba on 13 and 21 March.

The men are: Teodor Mancea, 24, Iulian Chermenschi, 28, and Barbu Costica, 33.

The court heard how the stolen items were returned and they had committed themselves to paying back the remaining €230 to make up for the ones that had already been sold.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard how Mr Mancea gave false details to the police and it was only after the Interpol was involved that his real identity was confirmed. He was also charged with stealing a mobile phone from Ryan's Pub in St Julians during St Patrick's day celebrations.

Mr Chermenschi told the police he came to Malta three weeks ago to try sell his car and was sleeping in it. The police checked the car and found that it was really his.

Mr Mancea was jailed for two years suspended for four years while the other two were sentenced to 18 months in jail suspended for three years.

Police Inspector Priscilla Caruana prosecuted. Lawyers Roberto Montalto and Noel Bartolo were defence counsel.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

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.