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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2014 3 News TIM ATTARD MONTALTO THERE has been only a "slight" in- crease in house burglaries reported in Sliema this summer when compared to this period last year, Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop told MaltaToday. However, Chircop told this news- paper that a combination of media attention, the systematic approach adopted by the burglars, and the geo- graphic concentration of the houses targeted, have brought to light an issue which is not quite new to the locality. "Although I am not sure of the exact figures, the number of thefts is more or less what it was this time last year. Maybe slightly more," Chircop said. "In the past, these burglaries might have been more sporadic whereas now they are more concentrated, and certainly more organised and sys- tematic." The well-to-do locality has served as the unwitting location for a spate of burglaries carried out over the past couple of months, with the prime suspects believed to be an organised gang from Eastern Europe. "The media coverage has also played its part, with many residents becoming aware of the burglaries through what they read on newspa- pers or over the internet," he added. "People's concerns are obviously go- ing to rise." Last week, the local council held a meeting with officials from the police force and the CID, with security be- ing one of the main topics discussed. This was followed by a meeting with the Minister for Home Affairs, Manuel Mallia, on Monday. "It was agreed that more police patrols are needed – both by offic- ers in uniform, as well as others in plain clothes," he said. "The crucial point which we agreed to was that the more police presence there is, the better equipped we would be to pre- vent such crimes." Chircop added that the local coun- cil was advising residents on certain precautions they could take, and urg- ing them to be more proactive. "We are recommending a list of 'do's and 'do not's," Chircop said. "People need to be more proactive in the sense that they should inform the police on any suspicious behavior they may see. It is important, howev- er, that people are precise with their reports." Asked about to what precautions the local council was recommend- ing, Chircop explained that many of them did not require too much effort but they could go a long way to pre- vent break-ins. "For instance, we are telling people to refrain from posting on Facebook anything to do with their wherea- bouts," he said. "We are also urging persons who live in apartment blocks to only open the front door to people that they are certain they know and not to, say, persons requesting access on the pretext that they know the in- habitants of another apartment." During the meeting held with the home affairs minister and Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit, Sliema residents vented their frustra- tion over the spate of thefts in recent weeks and complained about a lack of police presence in the streets. Residents recounted their expe- riences and came up with various explanations of how the thieves are finding their way inside houses, with some residents saying that the thieves used a professional bump key while others insisted that the crimi- nals were forcing their way in and using socks to avoid leaving any fin- gerprints. However, they agreed on one thing, the thieves were after gold and cash. Among the suggestions put for- ward, residents called for more po- lice officers on the beat and greater surveillance of the roads through CCTV. CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Fer- guson said that he purchased the data lawfully. "I bought lots of data for marketing but I did not hack anything," he told Bloomberg. He attempted to resell the hacked information as a "da- tabase broker", according to Paddy Power, which launched a legal case in Canada for the retrieval of the hacked data. The information was dis- covered by a UK data breach specialist who was searching for black market peddling of stolen databases. Ferguson wanted €7,600 for the files and sent the special- ist a sample of the data, the documents show. The Paddy Power data was among a package of lists Fer- guson was selling for his Mal- tese contact, according to the court filings. "I thought I was acting within the realm of legality," Ferguson told Bloomberg. "Is it ethical? Should I have had the data? To my knowledge, there's no precedent." Paddy Power secured two Canadian court orders early last month to enable com- puter equipment belonging to Ferguson to be seized and searched, as well as his bank accounts. Ferguson was shown the court orders and had his hard drive and other equipment containing the names, con- tact details, addresses, dates of birth, and secret questions and answers for 650,000 Pad- dy Power clients, seized. They were later wiped clean. No customers who signed up to Paddy Power online af- ter 2010 are impacted by the breach. It does not include personal financial informa- tion. Canadian man says he purchased database of 650,000 Paddy Power customers from unnamed online seller in Malta Concentration of burglaries in Sliema causing alarm Organised crime behind intercoms code, says police chief Ray Zammit Acting police commissioner says suspicious signs on intercoms are directly related to organised crime in Sliema and St Julian's DANIEL MIZZI WITH concern rising about a threefold increase in crime in Mal- ta, Nationalist MP Jason Azzop- ardi blamed home affairs minister Manuel Mallia for having authored "vindictive transfers" in the police force, leaving residents in crime- stricken localities with the short end of the stick. A Eurobarometer survey revealed that concern on crime in Malta had increased to 17% – surpass- ing the EU average of 12%. Police sources say that this concern has been fuelled by a recent spate of burglaries allegedly carried out by a gang of five men of Romanian and Bulgarian nationality in Sliema. Sliema local councillor Marianne Aquilina told MaltaToday that eld- erly residents were afraid to leave their homes. Hosted on TVM's Reporter by presenter Saviour Balzan, Azzop- ardi claimed that fewer officers are being stationed at police stations and that police presence "on the ground" is weak. "I had foreseen this increase in crime back in May 2013, when I in- sisted in parliament that the trans- fers within the police force may lead to an increase in crime. I was ignored, and unfortunately, what I foresaw in May 2013 is now turning to reality," Azzopardi argued. The home affairs shadow minis- ter also took umbrage at the rein- statement of former police officers, and said that anyone who is "not up to scratch" must be removed. Rebutting the claims, Minister Manuel Mallia underlined that there was no political interference in the transfers, and added that he did not interfere in the police com- missioner's decisions. While defending the transfers, Mallia was adamant that these were carried out only to meet the demands of the job. Echoing the minister, acting police Commis- sioner Ray Zammit said that even though transfers are being made, police personnel are not decreasing in number. Zammit told the programme that suspicious signs scribbled on the intercoms of buildings – which allegedly are used to alert rob- bers about the possessions inside a house, and the residents' habits – are directly related to gangs and organised crime in Sliema and St Julian's. Whereas police sources have reported that a gang of five men of Bulgarian and Romanian nationality are using a device called a "bump key" to break into apartments and burgle them of all their possessions, residents in St Julian's and Sliema have reported "suspicious" signs being scribbled on their intercoms. Asked by presenter Saviour Bal- zan whether these signs are direct- ly linked to the suspected criminals behind the burglaries, Zammit said that these are "connected," and also explained that these owe their ori- gin to a "foreign culture." "Prior to this increase in thefts, two foreign gangs were apprehend- ed. Today there is a good-sized group that not only includes for- eign members, but may also include Maltese," Zammit said, insisting that the police are making inroads in catching the offenders. Describing the increase in thefts as "preoccupying", minister Mal- lia insisted that the government is committed to deal with the in- crease in crime. "We can no longer deny the in- crease in thefts and organised crime. The number of police offi- cials has increased to 2,023, while further police patrols and under- cover police will be deployed," he said. Sliema has one of the highest rates of criminality in Malta

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