Police arrest drug trafficking suspect Aidan Bartolo after Mellieħa shootout

Updated on Friday at 7:50am

Police have arrested a man following a manhunt in the Miżieb woodland that lasted until the early hours of the morning.

The suspect, Aidan Bartolo ‘id-Dons’, was arrested shortly after midnight. His car was seen driving towards the Miżieb woodland, where it was left abandoned. He was later found hiding by the thick bushes and trees of Miżieb.

On Thursday, the police named the suspect as Aidan Bartolo after he had been followed during an operation by the Drugs Squad & Special Intervention Unit (SIU) at around 6pm, when he intentionally crashed into police vehicles in a bid to evade arrest.

“The Police were constrained to fire shots in an attempt to stop the man, who managed to get out of his vehicle and flee the scene on foot,” police said in a statement.

A car with bullet holes at the site of the shooting (Photo credit: PBS)

Police from the anti-drugs unit and the violent crimes squad worked on the case. Officers from the special intervention, the Armed Forces, and K9 units also assisted in the search. 

The suspect was taken to Mater Dei Hospital as a precaution as he had suffered some injuries when he was found.