The identity of the three alleged Caruana Galizia car bombers “may have been divulged” to the office of the prime minister prior to their arrest, the public inquiry heard on Wednesday.  

Testifying before the inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, lead homicide inspector Keith Arnaud detailed two meetings he attended at the Auberge de Castille before the arrest of the three men accused of carrying out the car bombing in October 2017.  

George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat have all been charged with planting and detonating the device which killed the 53-year-old journalist.  

Arnaud told the inquiry that while he was sure he had not named the men, their identities "may have been divulged" by others to those present at one of the OPM investigation briefings before their arrest, but he could not be certain. 

From left: Alfred Degiorgio, Vincent Muscat, George Degiorgio.

The briefings given to the prime minister’s office by the investigation team have become a contentious issue, with questions being asked about who was privy to the sensitive information.

Arnaud told the inquiry board that he had first been asked to attend the briefings by his superior officer at the time, former deputy commissioner Silvio Valletta.  

Around the time of the first briefing, roughly a month after the October 2017 murder, the investigation had identified the mobile phones used to detonate the bomb. 

By the time of the second briefing, the police had informed those present that they planned to go ahead with the arrest of the three suspected bombers – previously only referred to as suspects one, two, and three. 

The raid on December 4, 2017 involved up to 120 people, inspector Keith Arnaud told the inquiry. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Police had given three potential dates for the arrest during this second briefing and Arnaud said this was because they wanted to find the best possible date for the operation, which was to involve some 120 people.

The possible dates were the 4th, 5th and 10th December 2017. They would later settle on the 4th.  

This final date, Arnaud said, was established in a separate meeting with the MSS and police which only included members of the investigation and no politicians.
“There was no one there for that meeting who wasn’t in the disciplined forces,” Arnaud insisted.   

Arnaud was also asked about reports of possible connections between the Caruana Galizia murder and Libya-Malta fuel smugglers. 

He explained that many of the past car bombs investigated in Malta were believed to be linked to fuel smuggling.

It was something on the police’s radar, but not something they gave a lot of importance to, he said. 

Desperate lack of staff in homicide squad

Earlier during Wednesday’s sitting, Arnaud gave a rare inside glimpse of the police’s homicide squad, saying that when he joined in 2012, he was the only inspector in the unit.  

After raising concerns about staff shortages and a lack of resources, the unit was eventually increased to three inspectors, but this had only happened after a spate of unsolved car bombs.  

Perhaps the most direct question of the sitting, probed Arnaud on the impact that other police investigations may have had on the murder investigation – did their lack of progress hold the Caruana Galizia investigation back in any way? 

The inspector said he would only discuss this behind closed doors and so the press was asked to leave.  

Journalists and access cards - DOI head testifies

Earlier, the inquiry heard from Paul Azzopardi who heads the Department of Information.  

His testimony largely revolved around an issue flagged by journalist Caroline Muscat about her not being granted access to government events despite having an international press card.  

Azzopardi insisted that all DOI communications are sent to registered media houses. If a media organisation preferred not to be registered, then they could see all press releases on the DOI website.  

Azzopardi conceded that journalists without a DOI-issued access card were not granted access to official government events. 

The inquiry will continue on Friday 13 March.