Updated 5.15pm

A man escorted to court on Monday to face arraignment over a series of alleged car thefts, did a vanishing act while waiting in the corridors outside the hall. 

The 25-year-old Italian national was tracked down within an hour of giving his escorting officers the slip.

Giuseppe Condello Borg was escorted back under tight security, saying: “sorry, I am afraid" as soon as he stepped into the room. 

Wearing a red hoodie and tattered jeans, he tried to explain that he had gone back to his wife at his Mġarr home. 

“I’m afraid. I’m 25 years old,” he went on. 

The man had been arrested in the very early hours of Sunday morning at Mġarr by a police patrol.

He seemed to match the description given by people who reported a string of car thefts in the Mġarr and Mosta area. 

Upon his arrest, the officers allegedly found various tools, including screwdrivers, which were possibly used to commit the alleged thefts.

Once he was traced and escorted back to court, Condello Borg was charged with a series of aggravated thefts from vehicles allegedly committed over the span of a week. The first theft allegedly took place on October 30 at Mġarr and targeted a Toyota Hilux. The same car was targeted a second time on November 6.

There was also an attempted theft from a Land Rover model parked in Mosta on November 4.

The man was also charged with wilful damage to third-party property. 

Seated in the hall, under the sharp watch of four armed RIU officers, the man waited nervously, an Italian-speaking interpreter ready at hand to assist the accused who understood neither Maltese nor English. 

As soon as the hearing got underway, the prosecution informed the court that, at this stage, it wished to add another charge, namely that of escaping from police custody at around 1pm. 

The defence did not object to this request and the charge was duly added on. 

Prosecuting Inspector Godwin Scerri explained how reports had been filed at the Mosta police station over these past weeks about thefts from vehicles and damages. Since the thefts were allegedly taking place at night, police were surveying the area when they spotted the suspected thief on Sunday at around 4am at  Mġarr. 

The accused, who told the court that he was a tile layer, pleaded not guilty. 

Given the circumstances of the case, his lawyer did not request bail at this stage and the court, presided over by Magistrate Noel Bartolo, remanded the accused in custody. 

Inspector Godwin Scerri prosecuted.

Lawyer Jacob Magri was defence counsel.