Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545999
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JULY 2026 NEWS The unexplained privileges of Keith Schembri was arrested in 2019 but allowed the luxury to indicate to police what electronic devices IT'S around 2:40pm of 26 No- vember 2019 and a nine-seater vehicle pulls up outside a villa at the Santa Maria Estate in Mellieħa. The house belongs to Malta's second most powerful man after the prime minister— his chief of staff Keith Schem- bri. Three scene-of-the-crime po- lice officers emerge from the unmarked police van, clueless as to what they had to do. They were told to expect orders when they arrive on site. Instead of using their depart- ment vehicles, which have po- lice markings, the officers had been told to travel to the villa using the unmarked nine-seat- er vehicle. Accompanying them are officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, sus- pect Keith Schembri and his two lawyers, Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo. On arrival, one of the scene- of-crime officers asks her di- rect superior what was expect- ed of them but neither he could provide an answer. The superi- or calls lead investigator Keith Arnaud for direction. "He [Arnaud] told us to col- lect any devices indicated to us by Keith Schembri," the supe- rior tells his underlings, who look on in disbelief. Inside the house are Schem- bri's wife, his daughter, his el- derly parents and Neville Gafa, a confidante and employee of the Office of the Prime Minis- ter. The scene-of-crime officers follow Keith Schembri around the house, taking photos and collecting the electronic devic- es he indicates. On Schembri's instructions, officers collect a Dell laptop belonging to his wife, two MacBook laptops be- longing to his daughters, a dis- used Asus tablet for which no power chord is available, and an iPad that sits on the bedside table in the master bedroom. Two mobile phones are left untouched. Schembri does not point his finger to them and in line with the instructions they received earlier, the frustrated forensic officers do not collect them. An unusual search Roll forward to 27 July 2026 and Sergeant Michelle Camill- eri is testifying in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech, who stands charged with master- minding the murder of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia. Fenech is pleading not guilty to the charges. In 2019, Camilleri was one of the scene-of-crime officers tasked to take photos of the electronic devices confiscated from Keith Schembri's house in that afternoon search. "We did not know what we were going for," she tells ju- rors, while indicating that herself and two other foren- sic team members travelled to Mellieħa in a nine-seater van in which Keith Schembri and his two lawyers were also present. Camilleri then explains that upon arrival in Mellieħa, she asked her superior, Alex Tal- iana—since deceased—what were they tasked to do. Taliana was also in the dark and called then Inspector Keith Arnaud, who was the lead investigator in the Caruana Galizia murder case from which several leaks had occurred. "Taliana informed me that Arnaud told him to collect any devices indicated to us by Keith Schembri," Camilleri testifies. "We were following Keith Schembri around, pho- tographing the devices he indi- cated and collecting them." Jurors are then shown pho- tos taken by Camilleri of the confiscated devices and where they were inside the house. In all, five devices were collected from the landing area, a study, two children's bedrooms and the master bedroom. Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Giannella de Marco, Camilleri admits it is not normal to have the sus- pect's lawyers present during a search. She also admits that scene-of-crime officers are normally told beforehand why they are going to a property and what to search for. KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Keith Schembri (left) entering court on Tuesday to testify in the trial of Yorgen Fenech (Photo: Miguela Xuereb/Newsbook Malta) Police outside Keith Schembri's villa in Mellieha in 2019