Acting police chief tells inquiry, only Silvio Valletta's call logs were collected when his name cropped up in Caruana Galizia murder case
The public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia continues with acting police chief Carmelo Magri testifying
Acting police chief Carmelo Magri said that Silvio Valletta's call logs but nothing else were collected when the former deputy police commissioner's name cropped up during the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder compilation.
Magri was testifying in front of the public inquiry into the journalist's murder.
He was asked about police leaks and the fact that murder suspect Yorgen Fenech used to receive information about the ongoing criminal investigation from Valletta.
Magri said that no laptop or mobile phones were collected from Valletta in the course of the investigation, insisting that the former police officer had denied all allegations made by middleman Melvin Theuma.
Lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia, who is representing the Caruana Galizia family, asked Magri what evidence was gathered from Valletta, to which he indicated that only the call logs were elevated.
Comodini Cachia then asked Magri how come the police were not interested in what Valletta said on WhatsApp. She also asked Magri, whether he knew about Valletta’s relationship with Fenech.
Magri said he learnt about the relationship from the newspapers. The reference was to video evidence that emerged last January showing Valletta fooling around in Fenech's luxury car and the fact that the two had also gone abroad together to watch football.
Magri, who was appointed acting police chief last January after Lawrence Cutajar resigned, insisted that all investigations continued under his leadership. He said that he crippled and slowed down other departments to ensure that all key investigations were well-staffed.
The acting police chief said the FBI were no longer involved in the murder investigation.
Asked by Joseph Said Pullicino, one of the inquiry judges, whether anybody mentioned in the Panama Papers was investigated, Magri said that there was a problem with the unit tasked with such investigations because it was understaffed.
"I beefed up the unit since my time there," Magri added.
The reply caused Said Pullicino to remark: "This scandal rocked the world, and everywhere something happened, except Malta… I don't know (ma nafx jien)."
The public inquiry returned after a three-month lull because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inquiry is tasked, among others, to determine whether the State did all it can to prevent the murder from happening.
The inquiry is led by retired judge Michael Mallia, former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino and Judge Abigail Lofaro.