Three arrested over €17,000 entertainment venue jewellery thefts

Three people have been arrested in connection with a series of “snatch and grab” jewellery thefts from people at entertainment venues in Ta’ Qali, with the stolen jewellery valued at more than €17,000.

Police were informed of several jewellery thefts which took place during the night between 28 and 29 August 2026.

Investigations, including an analysis of security footage, found that the thefts appeared to have been organised and coordinated by the same three people.

According to police, the suspects would dance with people before grabbing and pulling chains from victims’ necks and escaping into the crowd.

Investigators identified one of the suspects and, following surveillance, managed to identify the other two.

The three suspects were subsequently arrested at a residence in Birżebbuġa.

During searches of the residence, police recovered some of the jewellery reported stolen.

The suspects are three Italian men aged 45, 32 and 20. They remain in police custody as investigations continue.

They are expected to be arraigned before Magistrate Lara Lanfranco at around 2pm on Thursday.