Two men who steal to fund their cocaine addiction were remanded in custody on Saturday after pleading not guilty to attempting theft of tools, kitchen and bathroom accessories from a construction site.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard how the men were caught red-handed by the police who responded to a call early on Friday morning that two men had broken into a block of apartments that was still under construction.

When the police arrived, they found the two men rummaging through the items with torches. One man hid from police behind a door while the other man hid underneath a plastic sheet.

Joseph Polidano, 51, and Stanley Spiteri, 46, both from Birżebbuġa, denied trying to steal the items from the construction site in Triq Patri Felicjan Grech in Żabbar.  

Both were also charged with committing the crime while out on bail over another case. In February 2021, Polidano was accused of stealing more than €70,000 worth of items in 21 thefts from construction sites over a three-month spree starting in November 2020.

Police inspector Darren Buhagiar objected to a request for bail, saying both men were clearly stealing to finance their “acute” drug addiction.

Polidano’s defence lawyers, Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb, argued that the state should provide a halfway house where people with drug addictions could be accommodated rather than being sent straight to jail when denied bail.

Debono said it was evident that their client was seriously addicted and the matter had to be addressed. He referred to the call by the judiciary for electronic tagging, which has not yet been provided by the authorities.

Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar for Spiteri argued that an addiction to drugs did not automatically mean custody. He said his client was prepared to respect bail conditions.

But Magistrate Galea Sciberras said the court was not convinced that the accused could be trusted so the request for bail was turned down.