Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 NEWS A mercury switch, also known as a tilt-switch often used in car bombs, was one of the items al- legedly ordered from a US ven- dor on the dark web by Jomic Calleja. This emerged from the tes- timony of Superintendent George Cremona earlier this week, as the case against Calle- ja continued in court before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. Cremona gave the court a detailed timeline of events be- tween 10 June and 20 August August 2019, months before Calleja was arrested in March of this year on suspicion of ille- gally importing explosives. On 10 June 2019, the police were informed by friendly for- eign security services that un- known persons were attempt- ing to buy Polonium 210, Ricin and Fetaynl on the dark web. Intercepted communications from between 1-8 June that year showed that Calleja's in- tended target was a man, who was between 165cm and 175cm tall and weighed around 55- 60kg. These details were re- vealed as the buyer, who went by pseudonyms which included 'unknown 893' user '2F108X''2 and Foxtrot108XRAY' was asked by the seller what dose of polonium 210 he required. 'Beauty of Polonium' Using the handle "MONIKER 2F108X" on a dark web site called "Berlusconi", the suspect had asked where the products would be shipped from and had been told that they would be hidden in small packets of "for example Bluetooth speakers", to avoid being picked up by ra- diation scanners. It was later agreed that the seller and buyer were to con- tinue their discussions on a PGP (pretty good privacy) en- crypted chat, using the code- word ALPHA to confirm the buyer's identity. Polonium 210 is a radioactive substance which is harmless outside the body but lethal if ingested, causing excruciating death by radiation sickness. The same substance was used to kill Russian defector and former FSB agent Alexander Litvinienko in 2006. "The seller also said that no- body would suspect Polonium 210 because it only emits al- pha radiation," said Cremona, adding that the seller had told the buyer that it would cause death by pneumonia within two weeks. The two corresponded for some weeks, with the buyer being reassured that the sub- stance was odourless and could not be tasted. The seller asked for the height and weight of the intended victims and was told that these were required to cal- culate a fatal dose. In another exchange of mes- sages between 10 and 24 June 2019, the buyer said he needed five doses "for now, but would definitely need more". The seller replied that five people dropping dead with alpha ra- diation poisoning would cause suspicion and that it would be better if just one dose was sent to start off with. Every dose would cost $500, but a lower price could be arranged for re- peat business, said the seller, asking for a week to prepare the Polonium 210 in his labo- ratory. There were several chat mes- sages regarding secure email providers before the buyer pro- vided his secure email address – 5nOw8all@protonmail.com. The seller sent a code word: "Marie Curie" – fittingly the Polish pioneer of radioactivity research – to be used to iden- tify communications between the two. The buyer had initially used the wrong codeword "ALPHA" by mistake and had apologised for this, Cremona told the court. The seller then requested recipient details for Malta to calculate postage, also telling the buyer to put the poison in the food or drink of the victim, who would die after two weeks. "That's the beauty of Polonium 210," he said. Shipped through UK remailer Calleja had insisted that it SECRETS OF THE DARK WEB SECRETS OF THE DARK WEB Jomic Calleja's target was a man between 165cm and 175cm tall who weighed between 55kg and 60kg • Motion-sensitive switch used in car bombs ordered with C4 package Calleja, 34, was arrested by the anti-terrorist unit in March 2020 and charged with attempting to import explosives. Calleja, who would often go by the pseudonyms of Jomic Grech or Micheal Luciano, had been charged with a slew of offences in the past. He once was arrested in Taormina, Sicily and made it onto the radar of Maltese financial authorities. In 2013, police searched his Gzira residence and found four 7.62mm x 39mm rounds – the right size for AK-47s – as well as a pill- making machine. He was also wanted for questioning in relation to an 18kg cannabis haul. MATTHEW AGIUS A BLOW-BY-BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE HARROWING INVESTIGATION INTO AN ALLEGED MURDER PLOT