The police are considering whether to recommend an extension of the time limits of preventive arrest in cases of serious crime, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Monday.

He was replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi into whether the local authorities would consider extending the current 48-hour maximum arrest period in cases of serious crime such as money laundering, terrorism or murder.

He said several countries had extended the time limit in specific serious cases to 72 or 96 hours and he knew that Maltese investigators were in favour of such an extension, particularly for cases of money laundering, where 48 hours were deemed insufficient. 

Replying, the minister said the police were considering the situation and making a comparative analysis with other European countries. He had been informed that the time extension was used abroad mostly for the investigation of terrorism.

Once the studies were completed, the government would come before parliament with the appropriate recommendations for comprehensive legislation, he said.