Pickpocketing on the rise again, court is told

Pickpocketing is on the rise again, a court has been told today as a Bulgarian woman was arraigned, accused of handling stolen goods.

Stoyana Stancheva, 38, appeared under arrest before magistrate Monica Vella this afternoon.

Inspector Nikolai Sant explained that tourists in St. Julian’s had reported their wallets stolen whilst traveling on buses. Stancheva had been arrested after officers who had been following three female suspects spotted her throwing away a wallet that had just been stolen.

Malta was experiencing a surge in similar thefts, he told the court. A similar spike in pickpocketing was also reported last year

The woman, who stood in the dock with tears in her eyes, pleaded guilty to a solitary charge of handling stolen goods.

The court sentenced the woman to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

“I promise that it will not happen again,” the woman said after her sentence was explained to her.

Inspector Benjamin Valenzia was legal aid.