Man pleads guilty to threatening Melvin Debono
Accused sent menacing messages and calls to the criminal known as il-Quws, court hears
Notorious criminal Melvin Debono, known as il-Quws, filed a police report after a man sent him threatening messages and threatened him over the phone.
Libyan national Abdulaziz Zamzam, 32, was charged in court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Inspector Gabriel Kitcher told the court, presided over by Magistrate Abigail Critien, that the accused sent Debono threatening messages and made threatening phone calls on January 25 and 27.
The threats occurred during the week Debono was out on bail. Debono had been granted bail on January 22 in connection with his alleged involvement in a high-speed chase in February 2025. His bail was later revoked on Wednesday after a court ordered his immediate re-arrest.
Police confirmed with the service provider that the calls were made from the accused’s phone. Inspector Kitcher also presented screenshots of the messages Zamzam sent to Debono to the court.
“The messages can be interpreted as threats. In fact, even I consider them to be threats,” Kitcher said.
After Zamzam pleaded guilty, the prosecution requested a protection order in favour of Debono, which was granted. Sentencing will be delivered at a later date.
In 2024, Zamzam was sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman. He was also charged, alongside two others, in connection with an alleged robbery in Swieqi.
Debono is also well known to the courts. In December, he was found guilty of firing an unlicensed weapon in a residential area and was handed a three-year prison sentence, which was suspended pending appeal.
In the same month, he was arraigned and granted bail on December 17 after allegedly threatening to burn down his ex-girlfriend’s apartment if she did not return his belongings.
He was also charged with breaching six sets of bail conditions, charges which he denied. Bail was subsequently revoked after the Attorney General successfully appealed.
Magistrate Abigail Critien presided over the case.
Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud represented the accused.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, and Adreana Zammit appeared parte civile.