Man charged with human smuggling
Police charge a 34-year-old Egyptian national who is believed to have organised a clandestine trip to ferry migrants from Libya to Malta
26 April 2021, 3:54pm
by Kurt Sansone
The group of eight men was stopped by police as they walked from Żurrieq to Għar Lapsi last February. The speedboat they travelled on was found some days later abandoned in the area (Photos: Police)
An Egyptian national has been charged with human smuggling after using a speedboat to ferry a group immigrants to Malta from Libya.
The 34-year-old man, Ali Ali Mohammed Shakshuk, had been arrested along with seven Libyan nationals who were spotted in the area between Wied iż-Żurrieq and Għar Lapsi last February.
A magisterial inquiry into Pilatus Bank cost €7.5 million, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said in Parliament on Tuesday.
He was replying to a question by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.
Both Azzopardi and the minister did not mention the bank by name, but Times of Malta has confirmed that the question referred to Pilatus Bank.
The inquiry, by Magistrate Ian Farrugia, was concluded in December last year but its conclusions were not published.
Times of Malta had reported on December 14 that the voluminous inquiry report had been handed to the State Prosecutor to be assessed for possible criminal action. Sources had said that the report recommended criminal proceedings be initiated against a number of bank personnel.
Tough sentence handed to drug-addicted armed robber
Man behind month-long crime spree handed eight-year prison sentence
9 April 2021, 1:36pm
by Matthew Agius
A man from Senglea has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison after he admitted to a string of eleven thefts, some of them violent.
Frankie Pace, 41, stole photographic equipment, jewellery and cash from residences and garages in Marsaskala, Kalkara, Zabbar, Fgura and Zejtun as part of his month-long crime spree which ended earlier this week.
The man’s charges include theft aggravated by violence, means and value.
Inspectors Lydon Zammit, Stephen Gulia and Sarah Zerafa, told Magistrate Ian Farrugia how two women had gone to the police claiming to have been robbed at knifepoint.
Pilatus inquiry at state prosecutor, assessed for possible criminal action timesofmalta.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofmalta.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.