A perfume thief caught selling the stolen scents on a popular Maltese Facebook group received a conditional discharge on Wednesday. 

Denise Camilleri, 33, was caught after an anonymous tipster called a Ħamrun perfumery and told the shop attendants that Ms Camilleri was stealing their perfumes and then selling them under the pseudonym 'Shaz Kev Camilleri' on Facebook group 'Min ipartat u min ibieħ'. 

The store owner confirmed that the perfumes being sold on Facebook matched those which had gone missing from the store, and police were called in. 

Investigations soon led to police identifying Ms Camilleri, and a search at her home yielded two perfume boxes, still perfectly sealed and barcodes intact, normally sold at €48.95 and €38.00 respectively.

Further checks proved that the whole illegal business had been going on for quite some time, the court heard.

When questioned by the police and later in court, Ms Camilleri insisted that she had obtained the perfumes from an "African" stranger after a chance encounter at Marsa.

However, she was unable to furnish any further details, since she claimed to not know his name, with his phone calls all registering as being from a  ‘private number.’

Her explanation did not convince the court. Magistrate Doreen Clarke pointed out that not only was her version riddled with contradictions, but it was also highly unlikely.

How had Ms Camilleri not smelt something fishy when a perfume, normally sold at €80, was allegedly offered at €15?, the magistrate had queried.

Ms Camilleri had not provided a credible explanation of how she had obtained the perfumes, the court observed, adding that it "did not consider the accused a credible witness and had difficulty in accepting her testimony as being true."

Since the prosecution had brought no proof of the other items allegedly stolen, the court could only judge the accused in respect of the two stolen items actually found in her home.

For this reason, the court declared the woman guilty, conditionally discharging her for two years and ordering her to refund €86.95 to the perfumery owner.