Last updated Friday at 6.40am

A man believed to be involved in drug crimes was apprehended on Thursday night after he fled in a chase and shootout.

The incident happened at about 6.30pm on Thursday.

A police spokesman said Drug Squad officers had been following the suspect, named as Aiden Bartolo, driving a red Mazda Demio when the chase began.

He realised he was being followed and started to speed away. At the top of the hill at the roundabout near the football ground, the suspect drove at police cars and the officers opened fire in an attempt to stop him.

However he continued to drive on towards the Miżieb woodland, where the car was abandoned.

Bartolo escaped in the woodland as the evening grew dark.

Man found hiding in tall grass 

In an update issued on Friday morning, police said that Bartolo had been arrested shortly after midnight following an “intensive and delicate search”.

He was found hiding in tall grass and trees in the Miżieb woodland, they said. 

Police from the anti-drugs unit and the violent crimes squad within the major crimes unit worked on the case. Officers from the special intervention unit and dogs from the K9 unit also assisted in the search. 

The man was taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance as a precaution as he had suffered some injuries when he was found, police said.

They  said their investigations are ongoing as is a magisterial inquiry being led by magistrate Leonard Caruana. 

Suspect named

Police had earlier named Bartolo and said anyone with information about him should phone 21224001 or 119.

A large number of police officers were involved in the search, which continued well into the night. Some of the officers were armed and wearing bulletproof vests. Police dogs, and an AFM helicopter equipped with a powerful searchlight were also involved.  

A helicopter involved in the search in Mellieħa (Photo by Karl Gatt).

The police spokesman dismissed earlier reports that a man had been injured.

He confirmed, however, that the suspect's Mazda Demio had been found, and it had several bullet holes on its tailgate. 

The police examine the abandoned car in Mizieb.

A number of children were training in the football ground at the time of the shooting. The incident caused 'lots of commotion,' with the children taken indoors, according to a witness. 

Another witness wrote on Facebook that as the shooting took place she saw police wearing protective vests running from a black van. 

A magisterial inquiry is underway.