Three charged and remanded in custody over Fgura car bomb

Three men were charged yesterday in connection with the bomb that was placed under a car in Fgura last January.

Paul Farrugia, 34 from Xgħajra, 29-year old Jonathan Farrugia from Birżebbuġa, and 49-year old Lorenzo Callus from Qrendi were charged before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja with criminal conspiracy including the planning or commissioning of explosive material intended to kill Mario Scicluna and Elaine Galdes.

Callus was also accused of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and of cannabis resin and heroin.

Paul Farrugia was also charged with possessing an amount of cigarettes on which Customs duty had not be paid, in a garage in Xghajra, while his brother Jonathan was charged with possessing cannabis resin with the intention of trafficking it.

The three accused were also found to have relapsed on sentences on former cases.

They denied the charges against them and were remanded in custody after the defence did not request bail.

Inspector Keith Arnaud prosecuting.

Arnaud explained that Callus had been arrested in Hal Far along with another person who was not charged. The police later arrested Jonathan Farrugia in Birzebbuga and Paul Farrugia from another location.

All three men remained silent throughout the arraignment with their lawyers pleading not guilty to all charges brought against them.

Four men had originally been arrested on Thursday. A fourth, who was not charged yesterday, is the estranged brother of Nationalist MP Therese Comodini Cachia Peter Paul Cachia.

On Thursday, the MP had distanced herself from her brother by posting on Facebook: “A few is minutes ago I received a phone call from a journalist telling me that my elder brother may have been arrested this morning.

“I am unable to verify this but think it is only correct to inform the public that I have not been in touch or in any communication with my brother for a number of years. Several people in my family and others know that I have not spoken to him for a number of years and can attest to this.

“Like most families, each family has disagreements. My disagreements with my brother are of a family nature and a number of years ago led to my stopping communication with him completely.”

The incident had taken place on 4 January but the bomb had not exploded.

Thursday’s operation took place after weeks of investigation which led the police to the four men.

The car belonged to Mario Scicluna, a Gozitan from Sannat, who resides in the area. The car, a Mitsubishi Pajero, was parked in a residential area on St Anthony's Street.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Arthur Azzopardi appeared for Jonathan Farrugia, Roberto Montalto for Paul Farrugia, and Christopher Cutajar for Callus.

Dr Mario Mifsud appeared on behalf of Mario Scicluna and Elaine Galdes in parte civile.