Updated 6.30pm
Brigadier Clinton O’Neill has had his suspension lifted and has been reinstated as commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, the government said on Tuesday.
The commander was suspended on half pay in February immediately after the theft of 135kg of drugs from a container under guard at Safi barracks.
The suspension was lifted as the report of an inquiry conducted by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia was published.
"Disciplinary proceedings within the AFM against those found by the inquiry to have committed shortcomings will continue in terms of military law," the government said.
The government also said it would evaluate the recommendations made by Judge Valenzia.
In his report, the judge found that O'Neill ran a risk assessment before allowing the container of cannabis to be relocated from the Malta Freeport onto AFM property.
He declined the offer of having a police officer stationed outside the container around the clock, arguing that the barracks' security measures were more reliable.
The area was manned by three soldiers on regular patrol, had 35 CCTV cameras and a perimeter fence, he noted.
However, the judge concluded that the AFM had failed to have a contingency plan in place.
"You cannot rely solely on the cameras. There are always residual risks, such as cutting through the fence or human failure, and measures must be taken to prevent these too," the report concluded.
It also noted other shortcomings at the barracks: two skips were partially covering the container and the site also had burnt-out floodlights that should have long been replaced.
Both issues were fixed after the heist.
At the time the commander was suspended, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that while initial information “excluded” O’Neill’s possible involvement in the theft, once the drugs were under AFM’s supervision and the heist took place on army premises, “it makes sense, therefore, to suspend the brigadier till the facts are clear.”
O’Neill was appointed army commander in 2022, 30 years after joining the army as a sergeant pilot in 1992. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant two years later, going on to serve in Senegal, Israel, Libya, Lampedusa and Sicily. O’Neill is only the second pilot to go on to head the AFM.