Caruana Galizia murder: Europol took a 'few months' to crack Yorgen Fenech's phone

It took “a few months” to crack the code and be able to unlock Yorgen Fenech’s mobile phone, a Europol expert has testified.

Spanish expert Yulia Toma, who is seconded with Europol, said the unlocking process was autonomous and the system tries millions of password combinations.

“In the worst-case scenario, it can take up to 30 years… We succeeded after a few months,” she testified in court on Wednesday.

Toma was cross-examined by Fenech’s defence lawyers as the compilation of evidence hearings continued in front of Magistrate Rachel Montebello.

Toma had been tasked by her superiors to carry out the initial extraction and unlocking process at Europol headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, on Fenech’s mobile phone.

She also carried out the same process on a mobile phone belonging to a ‘captain’, believed to be the captain of Fenech’s yacht.

Fenech was arrested on the Gio in November 2019 just after the yacht departed the Portomaso Marina.

Toma told the court the devices were kept in a Faraday room, which isolates them from radio frequencies. The Faraday room is accessible to several staff members at Europol, the witness said.

She explained that a forensic image is taken of a device, which is a bit by bit copy of the exhibit. This copy is used for analysis purposes, she added, so that the original exhibit can be preserved.

Asked by defence lawyer Charles Mercieca why the analysis is not done on the original device, Toma said it is best practice to work on the image. “It is to preserve the integrity of the device. That is why we were working on the forensic image,” she replied.

Earlier, the court heard the testimony of retired police officers who had been involved in Fenech’s arrest and on the day of the murder.

A former officer who formed part of the Drugs Squad testified that he had been assigned to arrest two men on board a vessel that had been stopped by the AFM at Portomaso Marina.

The witness said Fenech and the yacht captain were on board. Fenech was informed that he was arrested.

The officer testified that when he identified himself as part of the drugs squad, Fenech replied: “It’s better because we won’t take long.”

The police then told him he was being arrested in connection with the homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Fenech is charged with masterminding the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello is hearing the compilation of evidence against Fenech.

The prosecution is being led by Superintendent Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra, assisted by the Attorney General.

The defence lawyers are Marion Camilleri, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Charles Mercieca.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are appearing parte civile for the Caruana Galizia family.