Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524298
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JULY 2024 NEWS Malta's most wanted: The individuals WITH a total area of 316sq. km and surrounded by the sea, evading authorities in Malta is no easy task, yet many have managed to do so. From alleged murderers to people harbouring fugitives, we break down Malta's wanted list to see the outlaws who are still on the run from the coun- try's authorities. Alexandra Dalmas Alexandra Dalmas, 62, is wanted by the police over a pending court case. In 2021, she was arrested, charged and convicted for hiding her fugi- tive boyfriend and notorious criminal Joseph Cini, known as 'Il-Pele' in 2011. Cini is one of the country's most prolific criminals, with a court explicitly saying he has a "colourful and voluminous criminal record" during a 2018 arraignment. Cini was on the run after managing to escape from Ma- ter Dei Hospital in August 2011 after he was taken there from prison - where he had been remanded in custody - complaining of chest pains. He had claimed to have been left unattended when he asked to go the toilet. He was caught 24 hours later, after a rooftop chase in St Venera. Dalmas however had argued that she had harboured the man at her flat because she was afraid of him. She was sep- arately charged together with Cini of burglary from a house, while also being charged for harbouring a criminal because the police believed that she knew his whereabouts when he was on the run although she denied any knowledge. In 2013, the Court of Crimi- nal Appeal confirmed her con- viction, reducing her jail time by just a month. Faisal Meftah Elmghairbi Faisal Meftah Elmghairbi, 33, is wanted by the police over a pending court case. In 2020, he was released on bail after being charged with grievously injuring two fellow country- men with a knife in a confron- tation in Gzira. He was arrested after be- ing spotted near the Msida skatepark and was then on the wanted list because his al- leged victims were reluctant to reveal who the assailant was. The two alleged victims had initially refused to speak, telling police that they did not know the suspect aggressor. Elmghairbi pleaded not guilty to grievously injuring the two men, carrying a knife in public without a permit and breach- ing the peace. He was released on bail and has not been seen since. Ramzi Abdulhafid Ib Abukem Ramzi Abdulhafid Ib Abu- kem, a former soldier in Gadd- afi's army, had managed to slip under the police's radar some time in 2022 and has likely ab- sconded from Malta. The po- lice have, in fact, also issued an international arrest war- rant for the fugitive murder suspect. There are unconfirmed ru- mours that he has returned to Libya, other accounts say he has been murdered. Ib Abukem first appeared in court in January 2016, charged together with another man, with the attempted murder of a fellow countryman in Swieqi, in a stabbing allegedly moti- vated by the political turmoil and infighting between rival Libyan governments at the time. Five months later, he was back in court, charged with the attempted murder of three Paceville bouncers. A Samurai sword was allegedly used in the attack. The following year, Ib Abu- kem was charged again, this time with committing aggra- vated theft and cocaine pos- session. In May 2018, Ib Abukem was charged with his second murder after being accused, together with Hamza Kamen Bakoush, of beating and stab- bing fellow Libyan national Mahmoud Elmejdi to death on a Hamrun street in 2017. Bak- oush is currently serving time in prison for other crimes. Later that year, Ib Abu- kem was once again in court, charged with robbing a man at knifepoint inside a St. Paul's Bay bar and cocaine posses- sion, whilst out on bail. In 2019, Ib Abukem faced two separate arraignments in the same month. He was first accused of robbing a family and being in possession of an illegal firearm. He was granted bail on 7 August, only to be arrested 12 days later after allegedly robbing an elderly woman at knifepoint. In April 2022, Ib Abukem had also been arrested in con- nection with the murder of Mario Farrugia who was found dead in a car in Ħal Qormi, but was not charged after evidence emerged showing that he was not involved. Abukem was, however, a prosecution wit- ness in that case. Ricardo Ortega Espana Ricardo Ortega Espana, 34, from Spain, is wanted by the police in relation to investiga- tions on drug trafficking and a shooting that occurred in Msida in 2021. On 2 October of that year, officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit found There are 14 people wanted by the police, and who are on the run. Karl Azzopardi finds out who these fugitives are. Left to right (from top): Alexandra Dalmas, Faisal Meftah Elmghairbi, Ramzi Abdulhafid Ib Abukem, Ricardo Ortega Espana, Bobur Zufarov and Davron Zufarov, Mahmud Abd Al Salam El Adaw, Benjamin Zammit Tabona, Osabuohien Monday, Noel Portelli, Fouad Bouhayoufi, Ibrahim Hassan Bare, Islam Gomaa Mohamed and Dori Plaku