A man, suspected of carrying out an armed robbery at a Cospicua store on Saturday, was remanded in custody following his arraignment on Monday.

Duncan Debono, a 43-year old Cospicua resident, was escorted to court and charged with allegedly making off with under €2,333 in cash after holding up the 61-year old female cashier at knifepoint.

The robbery allegedly took place on Saturday at around 1pm, when a masked man wielding a knife entered the grocery store on Triq l-Oratorju, demanding cash from the till.

An intensive police search in the locality led to the arrest of the suspect thief, hours after the incident.

The man, who has a drug problem, was charged with aggravated theft, holding his victim against her will, possession of an unlicensed weapon as well as recidivism. 

He pleaded not guilty.

A request for bail was objected to by the prosecution, not only in view of the risk of tampering with evidence but also since the accused could possibly commit other wrongdoing on account of his drug problem. 

In light of such objections, the court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, denied the request and remanded the man in custody.

Inspectors Lydon Zammit and Stephen Gulia prosecuted.

Lawyer Christian Camilleri was defence counsel.