A man accused of stealing letters from people’s letterboxes in St Julian’s was tracked down and arrested thanks to police reports filed online, inspectors told a court on Tuesday. 

The 44-year old Italian chef, who lives in Pembroke, was arraigned on Tuesday and charged with having allegedly stolen letters from two different homes on March 30. 

He was also charged with the aggravated theft of a wallet from a Gwardamangia home on April 9 and with having later tried to withdraw €2,000 from the victim’s bank account. 

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Prosecuting inspector Leeroy Balzan Engerer said that officers at the St Julian’s police station had tracked down Cuccu after receiving reports lodged online.

Online reporting of crime has become more important in recent weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced businesses to close and kept people indoors. 

After hearing submissions by both parties the court, presided over by magistrate Ian Farrugia, upheld the request for bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000, an order to sign the bail book and to abide by a curfew between 1:00pm and 8:00am.

Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar was legal aid counsel.