• Arrested man was found with gun in hand
  
  
• Police investigating theory Sliema murders stemmed from burglary
  
  
• Suspect, who was on bail, did not sign bail book since Friday
  
  
• Gold items possibly stolen during the murders not recovered
  
  
• Replica guns, items taken from Sliema property, found in getaway car
  
  
• Flashbangs used in Floriana raid, but no shots fired

A man arrested in connection with investigations into last week's double murder in Sliema was found with a gun in hand, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa' told a press conference on Tuesday evening.

Daniel Muka, a 25-year-old Albanian national, was arrested in the dramatic raid on a dilapidated residence in Floriana.  

Christian Pandolfino, a doctor who moved to investment banking in London, and his art-collector partner Ivor Maciejowski were fatally shot in what is believed to have been a four-minute operation involving three men. The getaway car was found by police last Friday.

The police chief told the press conference that six shots were fired from a 9mm handgun in the Sliema murders.

"At this stage, we are still trying to establish what was stolen but there is the possibility that gold chains were taken off the murdered men," the commissioner said. 

"At this point, we are considering this case as one related to a robbery."

The commissioner said the getaway vehicle was found at the RMF parking in Guardamangia on Friday. (The police clarified on Wednesday that the car was actually found at a parking area close to St Luke's Hospital.) Its number plates were different to the ones allegedly used during the murder.

Inside the car were clothes, items taken from the Sliema property as well as the plates seen on the CCTV.

The police also found two replica guns. 
 
The commissioner said he could not give much details at this stage about the arrest or divulge the person's identity, other than to say he is a foreigner.  

He said the arrest was a result of forensic investigations carried out in the past few days.

"The police were following the prime suspect, who we consider as the mastermind," he said. 

"Today when we confirmed where he was hiding and after an arrest warrant was issued, we arrested the man."

The suspect was found in Floriana with two other people. 

The commissioner said the prime suspect (who was on bail in connection with a jewellery heist) stopped reporting at the police station once the car was found on Friday.

"That made our job a bit more difficult," Gafa' said. 

During the arrest, the police took all the necessary precautions and seized a firearm from the suspect’s hand.

The commissioner said the sounds which people thought to be shots were four flashbangs used to confuse the suspect. No bullets were fired.

Replying to questions, the commissioner said the two persons found in the Floriana property with the suspect are not linked to the murder but one of them is being held because he is friends with the suspect.

 
Asked about the fact that the suspect had been out on bail, the commissioner said he would not comment on court decisions. 

While reiterating that the police are still working on the theory that last week's murders stemmed from a robbery, Gafa' said no gold items that might have been stolen were found at the suspect’s hiding place.
 
Other items were seized by the police and they still had to establish the link to the murder, if any.

He confirmed that electronic devices were found in the getaway car but did not say what these devices were used for, saying they are being studied. 

In his press conference Gafa' congratulated his colleagues for their work, saying some had been recalled from summer leave.

He observed that the Sliema case was the sixth murder case this year with the first five all being solved.