A Sunday dive at Cathedral Cave in Gozo on 30 August 2026 did not go exactly as planned for some divers, but also for a SERIAL Diver’s vehicles thief.
Following multiple posts recently in social media of vehicle thefts from popular dive sites, local dive schools and dive centres have been calling for divers to be aware of some thieves targeting objects left in vehicles at diving sites. Such incidents also occurred in recent months and years in a sporadic manner.
This Sunday, Robert Farrugia, a Maltese national aged 56 resident of Żurrieq was caught in the act of stealing from a divers’ vehicle close to Cathedral Cave, Gozo. He was detained by divers who spotted him until the Police arrived at the scene. These promptly arrested him and charged him in court on Monday morning. The divers in question deserve plenty of cold beers!!! Job well done!
In court on Monday, Robert Farrugia pleaded guilty to the charges of theft from a vehicle, possession of items used to open locks without a legitimate justification, illegal carrying of a knife and of recidivism. He was sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 4 years and a fine of Eur 116.47 which if unpaid, will be converted to jail time. We are posting below a copy of the judgement in Maltese and a machine-translation to English.
We did a bit of additional research and we found that the individual in question has already been sentenced at least another three times for theft from diving vehicles and/or possession of stolen diving equipment and tools to open locks.
- 10 July 2002 – Sentenced after admitting charges not to commit another crime within 3 years following thefts from multiple vehicles at Dwejra, Gozo on 29/06/2000, Wied iż-Żurrrieq on 07/08/2000 and Dwejra, Gozo again on 08/12/2000, possession of stolen items and fraudulent use of a debit card.
- 6 May 2003 – Sentenced to probation for 3 years on admission of charges of having in his possession of a stolen underwater camera on 21/11/2002.
- 15 February 2017 – Sentenced to another 2 years’ probation after being found guilty of thefts from multiple vehicles at Ċirkewwa on 22/12/2014.
(Note: Due to technicalities, he was not found guilty of other charges, including relapsing and carrying out of a crime during a suspended sentence of 6 months jail suspended for two years handed to him on 6 September 2014 (for assualt on police officers, not obeying legitimate orders and being drunk in public). This sentence had been appealed and decided on the 15/11/2015. The sentence was changed to 9 months imprisonment suspended for one year and a Eur4,000 fine and a reprimand. It is noted that the court remarked at the time that he had been successfully undergoing a drug dependency rehabilitation program. We also found another court sentence delivered on 8/11/2012 where the same individual was handed a suspended sentence of 6 months jail suspended for 1 year following a brawl with Police in Zurrieq)
In conclusion, one can see that it appears that over the years this thief has not changed his ways.
Since the courts have again granted the individual another suspended sentence, it is imperative that divers keep on the lookout for the individual on dive sites, although hopefully he will stay away for a while. If however he’s convicted of committing a crime within the next 4 years, he might finally be sentenced to some jail time!
Which means, we need to be vigilant. To ensure this, we’re sharing the picture of the individual and his car as snapped on Sunday and shared on social media for everyone’s attention.
Should you identify the person (or the car) at a diving site, do not approach, but call the emergency police number 112 and ask for immediate assistance. Even though he might not have yet broken in any car, if he has in his possession items that can be used to open locks he may be still charged in court due to his previous convictions!
The latest judgement is shared below in the original Maltese text and a machine-translated version in English. Should anyone else want a copy of the other judgements, we have a copy in hand.
Other prior judgements related to thefts from vehicles for the same individual (in Maltese):