Two Maltese men have been charged with robbing around €60,000 worth of jewellery from a safe inside a Swieqi home.

The men, Rodney Farrugia and Juanito Jimenez, both 27, allegedly broke into a residence in Triq il-Kwartin on Friday morning, using a Ford Transit van as their getaway vehicle.

Later on that afternoon, police were alerted that the two men had tried to sell the stolen goods to a Valletta jewellery store. After discovering that the Ford Transit was registered under Jimenez’s name and finding it parked outside his Ħamrun home, police arrested the alleged thief.

His accomplice was arrested shortly afterwards in Ħaż-Żebbuġ.

They were prosecuted today and are pleading not guilty. Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia are defending Jimenez, while Arthur Azzopardi is defending Farrugia.