A member of an environmental protection group was forced to lock himself in his car after he was "ambushed" by people in Siġġiewi.
The incident was caught live on camera as the activist - a member of cleanup group 7R Lifestyle Malta - live-streamed the event to Facebook as it unfolded.
One man could be seen hitting his car and the activist said another had approached it, with him in it, with a rock in hand. A woman could also be heard and seen yelling at the man, as he urged live stream viewers to help him by contacting the police.
The activist said that he went to the area on the outskirts of Siġġiewi to meet a woman who asked to meet to discuss allegations of illegal dumping that 7R Lifestyle Malta had publicised on social media.
"When I got here, she lured me into this lane and suddenly I was blocked off by a truck," the man said on the live stream.
“I am in a public road, and they have blocked me completely.” he said.
“They are keeping me here illegally. Please, please, if you can, call the police. Things are escalating, please, someone come now,” he pleaded.
“Look at the situation we are in.... This is all live, to show what sort of country we are... When you care about the environment you are stuck in this situation.”
The incident happened at around 8am, with the police attending the scene shortly afterwards.
When contacted, a police spokesperson said officers had attended the scene and ordered the vehicles blocking the road to be moved.
All people involved had been taken to the police station in Żebbuġ for questioning and investigations were ongoing, the spokesperson said.
7R Lifestyle Malta is a conservation group that works with the Malta Rangers Unit (MRU) to highlight illegal dumping in natural areas.
MRU rangers are citizens empowered to document and report environmental crimes and work with law enforcement to prosecute such crimes.
Commenting on the incident, the MUR said it “strongly condemmed” the incident, calling it a “planned ambush.”
“Our rangers have for over a year worked closely with the person behind this cleanup group and he has taken on Goliath in the area of Siġġiewi and reported several sites not following regulations, as well as doing endless amounts of cleanups,” the group said in a post on Facebook.
“Five days ago he reported an animal farm to ERA, as he should after seeing what he saw, and today ... when he comes on site a large milk truck is blocking the road, causing a scenario where he is not able to get out of there.”
The MRU said it would increase its patrols in the area following the incident.