A man who imported explosives after originally planning to purchase deadly poisons on the dark web was jailed for five years and made to forfeit €51,000 in bail bonds by a court that described him as a “lethal weapon” ready to unleash “chaos and destruction”.
Judgment was delivered on Tuesday afternoon against Jomic Calleja Maatouk, a 36-year-old Żebbug resident, who had been facing criminal proceedings for conspiring with persons outside Malta to unlawfully import explosives from the United States.
Messages exchanged with a seller and retrieved by investigators also shed light on Calleja’s previous attempt to acquire deadly polonium 210, ricin and fentanyl, poisonous substances which, when mixed with food or water, would kill the victim within two weeks.
“Do you have poisons,” read one email sent to a seller on July 30, 2019.
It was only when Calleja did not manage to get those substances that the conversation turned to explosives.
Investigators first got on Calleja’s tracks after receiving information from foreign security services about an unidentified buyer who was trying to purchase lethal chemicals on the dark web.
Chats between the buyer and seller indicated that the deadly poisons were intended for a person who was between 165 and 175 metres tall and weighed between 55 and 65 kilograms.
The prospective buyer at first said he wanted “five doses” and would doubtlessly need more.
But the seller advised him to start off with one dose because if five people died at the same time, their deaths would trigger suspicion.
Each dose cost $500 and needed a week to prepare in a laboratory.
Investigators then traced an order for the explosive C-4 mailed to an address in Essex, England.
The suspicious parcel was intercepted in the US where a team of Maltese investigators led by Superintendent George Cremona had travelled.
It was opened and the dangerous material replaced with a “dummy” which eventually found its way to its destination in Malta by means of a controlled delivery.
Calleja was eventually charged with conspiring and importing C-4 without a police licence, forgery of a private document, use of that document, breaching previous bail conditions and relapsing.
He pleaded not guilty.
By the time the prosecution wrapped up its evidence, the correspondence between the seller and the buyer about the poisons had not yet been sent by the US authorities, remaining only as intelligence.
However, that intelligence provided context and reflected the accused’s insistence to acquire those poisons, observed the court when finding the accused guilty.
When meting out punishment, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech took note of the gravity of the crimes and Calleja’s unruly character as evidenced by his voluminous criminal record throughout the years.
From a young age, he persisted in a life of crime and committed all sorts of offences.
His behaviour was worse than that of carrying a weapon.
“Calleja himself is a lethal weapon ready to pounce at every opportunity, using his contacts to unleash chaos and destruction, opening the gates of hell upon whoever he deemed an inconvenience to be eliminated.”
Due weight also had to be given to the fact that the intended victim’s identity remained unknown with the dangerous implications that carried.
And the accused never showed remorse nor did he cooperate to save the intended victim from the death sentence destined, observed the court.
The court was also bound to consider the impact such crimes had on society which must be protected from such a dangerous person as the accused.
It sentenced him to a five-year jail term, adding that his imprisonment would hopefully serve to rehabilitate him but would also allow society to breathe easily and feel protected “from the hellish tentacles” of the accused.
The court also ordered forfeiture of two previous bail bonds of €23,000 and €28,000, revoked bail and ordered his immediate re-arrest.
There were a further €2,827.08 in court expert expenses to be borne by the accused.
Inspector Omar Zammit prosecuted.