Updated 3:10pm
A man was denied bail Friday after being charged with involvement in a series of break-ins at mobile phone shops in 2023.
Marius Iorga, 27, pleaded not guilty to burgling the five shops - Phone Refix, Exotique, Telecom, Tablets and More, and Fact - and causing damage to the shops between July 11 and 25, 2023.
He was also charged with conspiring to commit a crime and forming part of a criminal gang to commit a crime.
Times of Malta had in 2023 published footage showing gangs breaking into at least five of these shops, ransacking the shelves and quickly making off with loot.
Police said a total of €180,000 in merchandise was stolen from these outlets.
As the investigation continued, police discovered that the people involved with the break-ins were most likely Romanian nationals and a European Arrest Warrant was issued against them,
In recent days one of the suspected thieves was identified and arrested in Romania and was extradited to Malta.
The police said that this has been a significant development in the case and that they are actively searching for the rest of the members of the group.
Magistrate Jean Paul Grech heard how in July 2023 police were informed about five burglaries from shops in various localities around Malta. Investigations resulted that the burglaries were being carried out by the same four people, using the same method.
Police identified the vehicles used and tracked down from where one of the cars was bought. This led to the identification of the four people, who were Romanian, and included the accused.
Meanwhile, footage of the burglaries was published in the media and, hours later, the four suspects fled Malta and went to Sicily aboard the catamaran.
A European Arrest Warrant was issued in September 2024. On Thursday last week, the Romanian authorities informed Maltese police that the accused had been arrested and procedures would start to extradite him to Malta. He was handed over to the Maltese police on Thursday morning and was arraigned on Friday.
He was remanded in custody.
Lawyers Andrea Zammit and Brendon Hewer from the Attorney General’s office prosecuted together with police inspectors Lydon Zammit, Joseph Mercieca and Christina Delia.
Lawyers Roberto Montalto and Charles Mercieca represented the accused.