Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529778
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Police sergeant denies leaking police operation information to third parties Irregular migration arrivals on downward trend since controversial Libya deal A police officer is being held in preventive custody after she was accused of leaking informa- tion related to police operations to third parties. Cherise Camilleri, a 28-year- old from Qormi, denied the charges in a quick, but tense arraignment on Saturday after- noon. The court heard that during an investigation, a number of confidential sources had told the police that a police officer from the drugs squad had been leaking information about po- lice operations for months, "and possibly years." The investigators were told that the police officer was a woman named Cherise who had a tattoo on her arm. The investigators also exam- ined social media profiles of a person of interest in an inves- tigation, as it resulted that the person of interest and the ac- cused knew each other. Camilleri was arrested on 18 November, as her mobile phone was seized. She denied her in- volvement in the leaks and was granted police bail, as investiga- tors began the extraction pro- cess from her mobile phone. Photos of Cherise Camilleri taken from her Facebook page. The tattoos on her left arm were mentioned by a police informant JUST over 15,000 people entered Malta irregularly since 2011 with just 3,500 be- ing returned or relocated to other coun- tries, information tabled in parliament shows. Nonetheless, the figures also show that since 2021, the government has stepped up its efforts to curb arrivals and drasti- cally increase the number of irregular mi- grants returned to their country of origin. The highest number of irregular mi- grants was recorded in 2019 when 3,405 people arrived in Malta, followed by 2020 when 2,281 migrant arrivals were record- ed. Since 2020 the number of arrivals has decreased every year. This followed a controversial agreement between Malta and Libya to cooperate so that migrant boat departures are intercepted before they leave Libyan waters. The two coun- tries set up coordination centres in Val- letta and Tripoli with personnel from either side being stationed in the two centres. Human rights activists have criticised the deal because intercepted migrants are returned to Libya, which is deemed unsafe. The statistics tabled by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri in reply to a parliamentary question by Opposition spokesperson Darren Carabott show that last year Malta recorded 380 arrivals and this year the number so far is less than half at 155. The figures show that 1,130 irregular migrants were deported since 2011. How- ever, almost two-thirds of these depor- tations, 830 people, happened between 2021 and 2024, showing a concerted ef- fort by the Robert Abela administration to remove people who do not deserve protection. Over the 14-year span only 339 mi- grants accepted to be returned voluntari- ly to their home countries with the high- est number being 63 in 2014. Since 2011, 2,067 people who arrived in Malta irregularly were eventually relo- cated to third countries with the highest number being recorded in 2019 when 619 people left Malta for elsewhere. The number of irregular arrivals pales into insignificance when one considers that since 2013, Malta's population in- creased rapidly with the importation of more than 100,000 foreign workers and dependents. The government now intends to publish a migrant labour policy with the aim of taming this exponential increase in for- eign labour. It has already curbed the em- ployment of new workers in the cab and courier sectors and introduced a Skills Pass for prospective workers in the tour- ism industry. YEAR ARRIVALS RETURNS (Boat arrivals only) Assisted Voluntary Return (Boat arrivals only) Relocations 2011 1,579 16 30 164 2012 1,890 182 39 105 2013 2,008 6 54 16 2014 568 29 63 - 2015 106 11 10 - 2016 25 5 11 - 2017 20 - 15 - 2018 1,445 - 13 423 2019 3,405 42 11 619 2020 2,281 9 3 273 2021 838 263 30 234 2022 444 162 37 14 2023 380 295 8 159 2024 155 110 15 60 TOTALS 15,144 1,130 339 2,067 Source: Home Affairs Ministry reply to PQ Red denotes highest number, green lowest Irregular migrants: Arrivals and returns KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Irregular migrant deportations over the past four years account for 73% of all deportations since 2011, according to information tabled in parliament