A man has been sent back to jail after admitting to a spate of thefts from cars shortly after his release.

Shahihan Shahid, a 49-year-old jobless Pakistani, was arrested at a Gharghur residence on Sunday.

The court was told that a report by a Naxxar car owner on Sunday placed investigators on the suspect’s trail.

The owner claimed that the previous day he had spotted the suspect inside his car.

Footage of the incident led to the identification of the suspected thief who was linked to four other thefts from cars in that area.

Investigators also linked the suspect to two other thefts which occurred in July.

The suspect had a distinctive tattoo on his back, explained prosecuting Inspector Ritienne Gauci.

The man was charged with five aggravated thefts and one attempted theft, leading a vagrant and idle life as well as relapsing.

The first theft and a failed attempt took place in the very early hours of the morning on July 16 at Iklin.

The other more recent thefts were committed at night on October 5 and 6, targeting cars parked on three Naxxar streets.

Personal belongings and money were stolen.

Assisted by two interpreters, the defendant registered an admission after consulting a legal aid lawyer. He confirmed that guilty plea after the court gave him time to reconsider.

When making submissions on punishment, AG lawyer Clive Aquilina pointed out that Shahid had already served imprisonment.

Yet not only did he not learn a lesson, but it seemed to have become his hobby [to steal], said the prosecutor, stressing that the accused needed treatment for his alcohol problem.

His victims needed protection too, went on the lawyer, suggesting a four-year term of effective imprisonment.

Defence lawyer Ilona Schembri acknowledged that the accused was a relapser and suggested a treatment order “so that perhaps he would not land back in court.”

Magistrate Noel Bartolo, condemned the accused to a four-year effective jail term and issued a restraining and treatment order for one year after the accused serves his prison term.

AG lawyer Clive Aquilina and Inspectors Ritienne Gauci and Joseph Mallia prosecuted.

Lawyer Ilona Schembri was legal aid counsel.