Two youths were granted bail on Wednesday after they admitted stealing domestic appliances from a number of apartments that were still uninhabited and in the process of being finished. 

Leon Lee Zammit, 21, from Lija, was arraigned alongside with his partner in crime, whose name was banned from publication because he was still a minor when the thefts took place.

The two youths were jointly charged with four separate instances of aggravated theft dating back to last year, the first two apartments, at Mosta and Mġarr, being targeted between October 6 and 8. 

Days later, in the night between October 12 and 13, the same Mġarr property was targeted a second time.

That same night, another Mġarr apartment in a block under construction, was likewise raided.  

Tell-tale fingerprints, lifted from the scenes of crime, eventually led investigators to one of the suspects, prosecuting inspectors Lydon Zammit and Stephen Gulia said in court. 

As investigations continued, further evidence, including mobile phone localisation data, call profiles and text messages, eventually linked the other suspect to the string of thefts. 

The two suspects were arrested and subsequently arraigned, pleading guilty to the charges.

Zammit was separately charged with breaching a previous suspended sentence, a probation order and also with relapsing. 

The other youth was also separately charged with breaching a probation order.

The court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, was informed that the accused had cooperated with investigators, even telling police how they had sold some of the stolen items on Facebook. 

The accused’s lawyers requested bail under supervision, pending judgment, so that the youths could get help with tackling the underlying problems which were the cause of their criminal behaviour. 

In view of the accused’s guilty plea, the prosecution did not object to the request. 

The court granted each of them bail against a deposit of €800, a personal guarantee of €10,000 and a curfew, and also placed both youths under a treatment order. 

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri assisted the unnamed youth, while lawyer Rachel Tua assisted Zammit.