A suspected arsonist, who left Malta two days after allegedly setting fire to a car in Gozo, was remanded in custody on Friday upon arraignment after he was brought back to face justice under a European Arrest Warrant.

Yahia Hamid Mohamad, the 21-year-old Syrian-born holder of a temporary Bulgarian passport, was targeted by the arrest warrant after being identified as the suspect behind the fire that broke out on a Munxar street.

The incident took place during the night between April 30 and May 1 some time between 10pm and 4am.

There was no one inside the parked vehicle and luckily the fire did not spread to a nearby property. 

CCTV footage from the suspected crime scene enabled investigators to identify the suspect.

It turned out that two days after the incident, the youth travelled out of Malta and headed to Bulgaria. 

The Maltese authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant which was executed by Bulgarian police on October 14. 

On Thursday, Mohamad was returned to Malta to face justice.

The next day he was escorted before a Magistrates’ Court in Gozo, facing charges for wilfully setting fire to the vehicle, wilful damage to third-party property, wilfully disturbing the repose of residents and breaching the public peace. 

He was also charged with unlawfully disposing of waste material in a public place, as well as driving without a licence and insurance cover. 

He pleaded not guilty. 

His lawyer made no request for bail at arraignment stage and the court, presided over by Magistrate Simone Grech, remanded him in custody.

AG lawyer Joseph Camilleri Azarov together with inspectors Mario Xiberras, Keith Xerri and Keith Rizzo prosecuted. 

Lawyer Mario Mifsud was defence counsel.