A Romanian man charged with trying to steal a mobile phone from a handbag is believed by police to be part of a gang of pickpockets.

The man, George Bigu, a 29-year-old living in Paceville, was yesterday accused of attempted theft from a woman in Paceville at about 2.30am on Sunday. He denied the charge and Magistrate Ian Farrugia remanded him in custody.

His arrest came as the Criminal Investigation Department carried out an intense operation to break a pickpocketing racket in the popular clubbing area, following a number of reports received by the police.

A total of 502 pickpocketing crimes were reported in 2010, up from 450 the previous year, according to police statistics. They were believed to have been perpetrated by gangs of Romanians and Bulgarians who would target entertainment hotspots.

The number of reports soared during the summer.

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.