Updated 12.12 pm with arraignments

The police say they have solved five cases of theft from elderly people carried out by two women posing as healthcare workers.

A second person was arrested on Monday in connection with one of those cases, a robbery of a 77-year-old at an Msida residence last Tuesday.

The police had already arraigned Natalie Bonello, 45, who allegedly wore a medical mask to trick the resident into thinking she was a healthcare worker.

The second person to be arrested was 44-year-old Jeanine Azzopardi who is believed to have been an accomplice. 

“Investigation of this case led to developments elsewhere and another four similar cases have been solved,” the police said yesterday.

These cases involved two thefts in Birkirkara from women aged 81 and 92, a theft in Sta Venera of an 82-year-old woman and an attempted theft in Msida of a 77-year-old man.

All the thefts were allegedly carried out by the same two persons.

In all cases, the thieves knocked at the elderly people's homes and gained entry by telling the residents that they represented a care agency.

One of them chatted with the elderly person while the other stole whatever she could find.

Both women were jointly charged with forging a public document, in the form of a stolen cheque. Azzopardi alone was charged with the robbery of the 79-year-old woman and breaching bail conditions.

In court, Bonello, of Marsascala, admitted to all charges and landed a 30-month jail term. She changed her plea after having last week pleaded not guilty to having robbed an Msida man.

Jasmine Azzopardi, 43 of Paola chose to remain silent and was remanded in custody after the arraignment. No request for bail was made.

Bonello, who was assisted by legal aid lawyer Martha Mifsud, was placed under a treatment order in view of the fact that she needs help to quit her drug addiction.

Inspector Jonathan Ransley prosecuted.

The police again appealed to elderly people not to open the door to anyone they did not know or did not expect.