Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1381190
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 JUNE 2021 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 George informed his brother Alfred that there were many po- lice cars around and the plan was called off. The details were given in court this morning by Muscat, who was testifying in the compilation of evidence against alleged mur- der mastermind Yorgen Fenech. "Alfred realised that his broth- er was getting cold feet about coming over with his own car. We called it off… George always preferred a plan to use a bomb to murder her because it was less hassle," Muscat testified. Last February, Muscat admit- ted guilt and was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a plea bargain agreement. He was also given a presidential pardon to tell all on the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop. The Degiorgio brothers, who were co-accused with carrying out the murder, have stuck to their non-guilty plea and are awaiting trial. Fenech is charged with mas- terminding the murder by ask- ing Melvin Theuma to get in touch with the Degiorgios and get them to eliminate Carua- na Galizia. Fenech is alleged to have paid €150,000 for the mur- der. Theuma was given a presiden- tial pardon to tell all after he provided police with several re- cordings of conversations he had with Fenech and others in the af- termath of the murder. In today's sitting, Muscat said that he asked "Maksar and Jamie" to supply the explosives. Maksar is the family nickname of brothers Adrian and Rob- ert Agius, while Jamie Vella is their associate. They supplied the bomb that was eventually used to eliminate Caruana Gal- izia. The trio are facing separate charges. The bomb was imported and contained 500kg of gelatine and had to be activated through a mobile phone SMS. Muscat testified that when they were given the go-ahead to set their plan in motion after the 2017 general election, Alfred and himself used to track Caru- ana Galizia's movements on a daily basis. He told the court of how they used several vantage points to observe Caruana Galizia's house in Bidnija using powerful binoc- ulars. They also followed her to a coffee shop in Naxxar, where she used to go regularly. Bomb supplied by 'Maksar and Jamie' The first plan was to shoot her and the weapon was supplied by Robert Agius and Jamie Vella. But when that plan was aborted, they opted for a bomb. Muscat said a plan to place the bomb inside Caruana Galizia's car on Notte Bianca did not ma- terialise but on 15 October, Al- fred noticed that the journalist's car was parked outside the gate. Muscat testified that himself and Alfred made their way to the car in the dead of night and while he stood watch, Alfred picked the car lock and placed the bomb underneath the driver seat. The bomb was detonated by George Degiorgio on 16 Octo- ber, shortly before 3pm when Caruana Galizia drove out of her home. Muscat recounted how the day after the murder he drove Al- fred to Marsaskala from where he was to collect the balance of €120,000 for the assassination. The money was split equally be- tween the three. A €30,000 had already been paid when the mur- der plan was set in motion. Muscat told the court that the Degiorgio brothers were tipped off on a police raid on the Marsa potato shed that served as their headquarters. He said Alfred knew that the raid would take place on 4 December. Muscat said Alfred never told him who he was getting infor- mation from but insisted that former deputy police commis- sioner Silvio Valletta was "leak- ing information". Magistrate Rachel Montebel- lo is presiding. Lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Marion Camilleri are Fenech's defence team, while Superintendent Keith Arnaud, aided by deputy attorney general Philip Galea Farrugia, is prose- cuting. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are representing the Caruana Gal- izia family parte civile. Lawyer Marc Sant is assisting Vince Muscat. Advance warning of raid Under cross-examination by parte civile lawyer Jason Azzo- pardi, Muscat said they knew the date and time of the police raid on the potato shed some two or three weeks before it actually happened. Muscat said he did not know what the election had to do with the murder but Melvin Theuma had told them to wait for further instructions in June, after the election. Silvio Valletta denial In a statement to the media, former deputy police commis- sioner Silvio Valletta reiterated his denial that he passed on any information related to the Caru- ana Galizia murder investiga- tion. "I once again categorically de- ny… that I passed on some form of information to anyone. Vince Muscat is lying when he says (as reported) that he knew that I passed on information," Val- letta said, adding that he will be speaking to his lawyers to see what steps he could take to pro- tect his name. MALTA International Airport has warned of delays to clear passengers unless COVID vaccine certificates and health documents required by the author- ities are digitally validated. The airport company has appealed to the government to activate "digital vali- dation solutions". MIA has joined the Airports Coun- cil International that warned last week European airports could face chaos and pressure this summer with lengthy man- ual document verification processes. "The use of technology in this regard would allow for quicker access to pas- senger data should contact tracing be required as well as contribute to a more seamless guest experience on arrival in Malta," the MIA said, while thanking the Maltese health authorities for estab- lishing the necessary safeguards for the restart of tourism. Malta formally restarted the tourism sector on 1 June. So far, tourists arriv- ing here from amber list countries can- not yet use their COVID certificate to gain entry but have to present a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours before ar- rival into Malta. Over the weekend, there was confu- sion in some airports over the 72-hour time window with some people taking it to mean 72 hours before departure, which is not the case. In other instances, tourists were al- lowed to board with a rapid test rather than a PCR swab test. In these instanc- es, arrivals were asked to carry out a PCR test in Malta at their own expense and forced into quarantine until the re- sult was out. The situation has prompted health professionals to call on the authorities to communicate the conditions for en- try clearly to all operators in the travel industry. Maltese and residents of Malta who have a valid vaccine certificate issued by the Maltese health authorities would be able to re-enter the country using the certificate. Airport warns of delays unless COVID health documents can be electronically validated 'George always preferred to use a bomb to murder her because it was less hassle' The bomb used to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia was imported and contained 500kg of gelatine and had to be activated through a mobile phone SMS