Days before being abducted outside his Rabat garage, panel beater Carlos Schembri had struck a deal with another man to exchange a van allegedly stolen from his former employer Christian Borg for a tow truck.

Details of that deal emerged in court on Wednesday afternoon when the compilation of evidence continued against Borg and five associates, all accused of involvement in the abduction which allegedly took place on January 21 at Triq it-Taghbija, Rabat.

Borg along with Thorne Mangion, Tyson Grech, Jeremy Borg, Burton Azzopardi and Luke John Milton are all pleading not guilty and have all since been granted bail.

On the day after the alleged abduction, at around 3.45pm, Joseph Camenzuli, a business associate of Borg and director at his company Princess Operations, had turned up at the police station at Wied il-Ghajn to file a report about a van which had allegedly been stolen from the company.

He could not confirm the value of the vehicle nor its number plate but directed the police officer to meet Borg who was waiting outside a garage at Triq is-Silla, Marsascala where parts from the stolen van were allegedly being stored, testified PS Jean Claude Mangion.

The officer followed Camenzuli to the indicated site and there met Borg who explained how the previous day he had managed to get hold of Schembri when the youth entered his car compound next to the Paola hockey ground.  Schembri allegedly admitted to stealing the van together with two Peugeot vehicles, a 108 and 208 model.

He had also stolen some number plates.

Schembri had then somehow managed to slip away from the car compound but Borg later discovered that a number of vehicles were missing, after carrying out a key-matching exercise.

The garage at Triq is-Silla belonged to Alessio Magro who told police how ten days before, Schembri had approached him with an offer to exchange a Peugeot van, with no number plates, with a tow truck.

The deal was struck and the pair had set about dismantling the van, reducing it to parts inside a Fgura garage.

Schembri took the chassis while Magro took the engine and other parts storing them inside the Marsascala garage.

That was where police found various parts including three seats, two sliding doors, two head and tail lights, a radio, a rear axle, front bumper, dashboard, bonnet and upholstery.

“How did Borg know about the Marsascala garage?”asked lawyer Sean Zammit, assisting Schembri at the hearing.

After striking the deal with Schembri, Magro got to know that Burton Azzopardi was trying to get in touch with his brother.

Magro had spoken to Azzopardi who told him that “they had found a missing van,” explained the witness.

The parts found in Magro’s garage were found to match the van reported missing by Borg’s company and later that same day they were taken back by their lawful owner, the court was told.

Earlier in Wednesday's sitting, forensic medical expert Mario Scerri testified about the various injuries suffered by the victim of the alleged abduction.

He examined Schembri two days after his alleged ordeal.

The youth had a black eye, scratches on his face and ear and other injuries compatible with blunt trauma as well as a lower chipped tooth that was visible within walking distance.

He had told the doctor about how he was “beaten by everybody ” (“qala xebgħa mingħand kulħadd”) after being forced into a van, driven all the way to Kordin, transferred to another van and taken away until he finally managed to escape when his kidnappers stopped for fuel at an Għajn Dwieli service station.

Schembri also claimed that officers at Fgura police station had directed him to the Paola police station.

But when the court doctor followed this up, the Fgura police gave a different version saying that Schembri had ran out of the police station while they were trying to contact their colleagues at Paola.

Scerri had also been tasked by the court to examine five of the accused who were arraigned on January 24.

Two days later he sought to carry out that task but each of the men had refused to be examined, as they had every right to do, said Scerri.

Upon further questions by defence lawyers, the doctor said that all of the men had said that they wanted to consult their lawyers who were not present at the time.

Once no consent was forthcoming, the court expert’s task had ended there.

The case, presided by Magistrate Monica Vella, continues next month.

Inspectors Roderick Attard and Sarah Kathleen Zerafa prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Karl Muscat and Francesco Refalo.

Lawyers Giannella de Marco, Gianluca Caruana Curran, Michael Sciriha, Stefano Filletti, Stephen Tonna Lowell, Robert Spiteri, Franco Debono, Francesca Zarb and Jason Grima are defence counsel.

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Sean Zammit are appearing parte civile.