A man who stole two gold medals valued at €400,000 from the Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa was jailed for seven years on Thursday, including two years for breaching bail.

Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia also ordered that €20,000 held in bail money are to be confiscated.

Justin Mallia, 25, of Cospicua, was arrested in March, hours after the two very rare 19th-century medals went missing from the museum.

He had only been out on bail for a few days and was clearly identified on CCTV footage. 

Police said he managed to slip into the museum by posing as an education official delivering documents while an event for schoolchildren was taking place.

According to Heritage Malta, the medals or coins were awarded between 1800 and 1801 to leaders and distinguished members of the National Congress battalions who fought to liberate Malta from French rule.

The suspected thief was tracked down within hours and arrested at his home. He handed over a pouch containing the stolen medals when police knocked at his door. When questioned, he told officers that he had stolen the medals to settle some pending debts. 

On March 19, Mallia was charged with aggravated theft, unlawful possession of the medals, which were government property, as well as defrauding the Maritime Museum. He was also charged with breaching three previous bail decrees. 

Mallia initially pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. 

Prosecuting inspector Paul Camilleri told the court that the medals had suffered “irreversible damage” because they brushed against other items inside the pouch where Mallia had placed them. 

Mallia later changed his plea and registered an admission. His lawyer said Mallia had never imagined the medals were worth so much.