Two women who admitted to several acts of pickpocketing in Valletta were led out of a magistrate’s courtroom wailing in despair on Wednesday after they were sentenced to 18 months in jail.  

Rusanka Dimitrova Staneva, 43, and Neli Ilieva, 24, both Bulgarian Roma persons who claimed to have come to Malta in search of a job, were apprehended after a series of theft reports poured into the Valletta police station.

Policemen spotted the two women going from one shop to the other in Valletta. including one shop where a woman was robbed of her purse.

The two suspects were finally rounded up and taken into police custody where they admitted to having resorted to theft since they ended up cash-strapped when a third party who had allegedly promised them work, swindled them out of their money and left them stranded.

The two were arraigned on Wednesday and pleading guilty to numerous charges of theft and attempted theft, all dated between May 31 and June 5.

The prosecution explained how the two had withdrawn amounts of cash from an ATM in Republic Street, totalling €500, by making use of a stolen credit card. This money was never returned to its lawful owner.

The women had also stolen some €45 in cash and another credit card and had been halted in their tracks just when about to commit another theft using a stolen credit card, the prosecution explained.

“This cannot go on,” Magistrate Joseph Mifsud declared, stressing that while all foreigners were welcome on the island, no one had the right to abuse of the local hospitality.

A balance needed to be struck between the rights of the accused and those of society at large, pointing out that such crimes deprived the people of their rightful peace of mind.

After expressing these reflections, the court declared the accused guilty upon their own admission and condemned each to an effective jail term of 18 months, also taking into account the early guilty plea raised by their defence lawyer Yanika Camilleri.

Finally, the court recommended repatriation once the two have served their prison term.  

It was just then that the two women suddenly burst into tears, wailing loudly, crouching low in the dock, clutching their face in despair as two officers escorted them out of the courtroom.

Inspectors Priscilla Caruana Lee and Alfredo Mangion prosecuted