A 37-year-old man wanted in connection with a murder in Santa Luċia in March is expected to be extradited from Morocco in the coming days, police sources have confirmed.

Samir Almiri was arrested in Casablanca just a few days after the murder and all extradition proceedings have been exhausted, paving the way for his immediate extradition to Malta to face justice here. 

Almiri is wanted over his involvement in the murder of Victor McKeon, a 62-year-old man whose badly decomposed body was found wrapped in a garbage bag in his apartment bathroom in Misraħ Durrel.

He is understood to have been sharing the apartment with the victim when the murder took place.

The suspect managed to flee the country before the gruesome discovery on March 17 but was immediately tracked down by Maltese investigators. 

Body discovered days after the murder

The alarm had been raised by residents who reported a foul smell coming from the apartment. The discovery was made three to four days after the crime took place. 

Police sources said the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the extradition process, almost bringing it to a complete standstill.

Several airports were closed and aircraft grounded when the first wave of the coronavirus hit in March, with Malta closing its ports to control the spread of the virus. 

The extradition process started again in the law few days and the man is now expected to be brought to Malta under heavy security within the next couple of days, possibly by the end of the week, sources said. 

Sources said McKeon had been found with a deep laceration on his head probably caused by a sharp and pointed instrument. He probably died from suffocation.

This was the second time that McKeon was targeted. In August 2017, two men had entered his apartment and stabbed him when he was in bed, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.