Some €23,000 in gold items and cash were stolen from an elderly woman by a relative who claimed he was forced to break into her home after being threatened, a court heard yesterday.

Homeless Josef Agius, 23, admitted taking the jewellery, cash and other items from the residence in Żabbar on October 20.

He also admitted to relapsing and having committed the crime during the operative period of a suspended jail term.

Police Inspectors Carlos Cordina and Sylvana Briffa told Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna that Mr Agius said he had stolen after being threatened.

The police are investigating a possible drug connection. Magistrate Apap Bologna jailed him for three years for theft and relapsing and brought into force a two-year jail term that had previously been suspended.

Sources said the gold had been sold to a jeweller and melted down.

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.