Romanians Stefan Razvan-Aurel, 32, Marian Ciucisan, 51, Alexandra Buzatu, 32 and Stefan Marius, 34 were remanded in custody pending judgement on Monday after they pleaded guilty to their involvement in 22 pick-pocketing thefts between July 8 and last Monday on Arriva buses.

Police inspector Michael Mallia said their arraignment was part of a major investigation into 250 thefts which had been happening since May.

The police knew they were not the only gang operating on the islands, they operated very discreetly and were very difficult to trace.

In pleas on punishment, he asked Magistrate Giovanni Grixti to consider the “extreme damages” caused by these type of crimes, the value of the items taken and the fact that they targeted elderly people.

By their own admission the Romanians would target middle aged to elderly people because they were more vulnerable.

Most of their crimes were on foreigners with tourists having their passports and cash stolen and instead of enjoying their holiday had to end up at their respective embassies asking for help.

Inspector Mallia said that besides the monetary loss, the court also had to consider the psychological trauma which even harmed society.

He noted that police campaigns had to be launched to make the people aware of pickpocketing.

Legal aid lawyer Patrick Valentino said it was absurd to ask a magistrate to consider moral damages because criminal law did not allow for this.