Bullet casings from shots fired by the Home Affairs Minister’s driver Paul Sheehan were removed from the crime scene before forensic officers arrived on the spot, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.

A man, who is close to Mr Sheehan, has been interrogated on suspicion that he tampered with the crime scene and removed the shells himself. He is the same person suspected to have approached two witnesses who filmed the shooting and asked them for the footage.

However, the man has denied his involvement in both incidents and investigators do not have any conclusive evidence, this newspaper is informed. 

Mr Sheehan, the 40-year-old police constable who was seconded as a security driver with Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, allegedly fired two shots at 30-year-old Stephen Smith’s Vauxhall car on the night of November 19. The official version is that the incident escalated following a minor traffic accident.  

However, the hit-and-run story is being questioned and investigators are looking at a possible connection between Mr Sheehan and Mr Smith that precedes the incident, sources said.

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