Man charged with €20,000 theft from employer after posting items on Facebook marketplace

A man has been remanded in custody after being charged with stealing over €20,000 worth of items from his former employer.

30-year-old Steve Camilleri from St. Paul’s Bay was arraigned before magistrate Nadine Lia this morning, accused of aggravated theft.

Inspector George Frendo told the court that the items had been reported stolen last year but the police had closed in on the man after he listed stolen items on Facebook Marketplace.

Camilleri, who told the court that he now worked as a cab driver, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bail was requested, with the prosecution objecting as the man was accused of aggravated theft from his employer. Witnesses will be ex-colleagues of the accused and there is a risk of tampering with evidence, said Inspector Frendo, adding that during the investigation, the accused had not collaborated with the police in any way.

In her submissions on bail, lawyer Adriana Zammit, defence counsel, disagreed with the inspector’s assertion that the accused had not collaborated with the police. A man who had held a stable job for 10 years with the company suddenly found himself facing a search and arrest warrant, she said.

“If the case is built on these civilian witnesses, the police should have spoken to them before arraigning him,” said the defence, pointing out that the alleged theft took place over a year ago.

Magistrate Lia asked the inspector why the man had been arrested now when the thefts had taken place last year. The police report was only filed last week after the stolen items were spotted listed on Facebook, replied the officer.

The lawyer said it would emerge that the accused had bought the items from the company. The accused is a family man with a young son and is presumed innocent, argued the defence, adding that he had been working with the company for 10 years before the alleged thefts.

“This company knew full well that he was in resale,” suggested the lawyer, arguing that it was not just for there to be an objection to bail as well.

Magistrate Nadine Lia, after considering the submissions and the applicable law, denied bail in view of the nature of the witnesses yet to testify, so as to preserve the evidence. She solicited the prosecution to summon these witnesses as soon as possible.