Alleged thief arrested after police chase in St Paul's Bay

A 35-year-old man has been arrested following a police investigation into a string of thefts from vehicles in St Paul's Bay and Qawra.

In a statement, police explained that on Wednesday at around 1:00pm, a man entered the police station in Qawra after seeing a man trying to steal items from his vehicle, but the alleged thief had fled the scene.

Police then patrolled the area in order to find the suspect, eventually finding a man who fit the description given by the person who reported him. 

Once the suspect was aware of the police, he fled the scene and entered an apartment complex. In order to escape, the suspect leapt from a height and landed in the garden of a private residence, then jumped off another wall which was about one storey high. 

Police kept pursuing the man on foot, as well as by car, until he was found in a garage complex.

His residence was then searched, where a number of items that were reported stolen were found.

The man, who is a Croatian national, is being held in police HQ in Floriana, as he is expected to be arraigned in court in the coming days. 

Police investigations are still ongoing.