A man was remanded in custody following his arraignment late on Wednesday afternoon, after police tracked him down in relation to a theft of some €7,000 worth of clothing.

Keith Pace, 38, a Santa Venera resident, was charged in front of magistrate Simone Grech over a series of thefts which took place between August 14 and 21 in Paola.

He was also charged with involvement in a failed robbery from a store in St Joseph High Street, Santa Venera, in the evening of September 23.

The man, who has a voluminous criminal record, was also charged with being a relapser, voluntary damaging third party property and handling stolen property.

Investigators eventually tracked down the man as the prime suspect and arrested him at his home before pressing charges.

He pleaded not guilty. Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia did not request bail at this stage in view of the man’s criminal record and the fact that civilian witnesses were still to testify.

Inspectors Mario Xiberras, Wayne Camilleri and Shawn Pawney prosecuted.