Police officers looking for jewellery thieves nab men breaching bail curfew

Police officers on the lookout for jewellery thieves ended up catching two men breaching their bail conditions when they stopped a suspicious car early on Thursday morning.

Keith Testa, 21, and George Galea, 51, both from Marsa, were arraigned before Magistrate Gabriella Vella, charged with breaching three sets of bail conditions between them.

Police Inspector Lydon Zammit, prosecuting together with Inspector Stephen Gulia, told the court that the men had been arrested in Żebbuġ, after RIU officers had stopped their car as it had no number plates.

A search of the vehicle returned three knives, a hatchet, a set of pliers, as well as gloves, masks and screwdrivers.

The RIU patrol had initially suspected a connection to the burglary of an Attard jeweller, which happened two days before, and so contacted the police control room to confirm. The line of investigation about connections to the burglary was later discarded due to lack of evidence.

Zammit told the court that after he was informed that there were insufficient grounds to charge the men about the burglary, the decision was taken to charge them over the breach of their bail conditions.

Testa had consulted with legal aid lawyer Mario Caruana and had told the police that he had received a call from Galea, asking him to pick up Galea’s daughter from Mgarr at around 2am. But this explanation was not considered convincing by the police, the inspector said.

Testa had been on bail in connection with a violent mugging of a woman in Bormla which happened in September.

Galea was also on bail, having been charged in August over the armed robbery of a San Gwann shop. He had been granted bail by the Criminal Court in October and his bail conditions included that he observe a curfew.

Galea, assisted by Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb, pleaded not guilty. Testa also entered a not guilty plea.

Bail was not requested.