Mistakes made by the police in issuing wanted notices to the public must not be repeated and issues causing them should be addressed, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Wednesday. 

He was replying to a question in parliament from PN MP Joe Giglio, who asked for the minister’s reaction following reports that the police had issued a wanted notice for a man who was later discovered to be in prison. 

Earlier this month, police issued a statement seeking Marziq Abdelaziz who was wanted in relation to a pending court case. However, former MP and lawyer Jason Azzopardi revealed that Abdelaziz was in prison. 

Last week, the police also issued a wanted notice for Ryan Dimech, who claimed that he was not notified about his court appointment and was working in Sicily. 

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the minister noted that in the case concerning Dimech, the police had been acting on the orders of a magistrate when they issued the wanted notice.

But in the case of Abdelaziz, a mistake had been made, he acknowledged. 

“I think it’s such a shame when these mistakes are made, especially when the police are enjoying higher trust among citizens,” he said. 

“I appreciate that wherever people work there are bound to be mistakes, but I still don’t justify it. I expect that in such circumstances decisions are taken to prevent such a mistake from happening again. It bears repeating, it’s a real shame when things like this happen and it must not happen again.”