[WATCH] Police arrest ‘prime suspect’ in Sliema double murder, case considered to be theft-related

Updated at 7:45 pm with police crime conference details

A man arrested in a police raid on a Floriana residence on Tuesday afternoon is believed to be the prime suspect in the Sliema double murder, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà said.

The arrest came after armed police officers raided an apartment in Floriana, a week after the murder of Chris Pandolfino, 58, and Ivor Maciejowski, 30. The couple were murdered at their Sliema home in Locker Street on Tuesday 18 August.

Shots fired at police as suspected Sliema murderers are arrested - https://bit.ly/2EsSvzz

Shots fired at police as suspected Sliema murderers are arrested - https://bit.ly/2EsSvzz

Posted by MaltaToday on Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Gafà said the police were considering the murder case to be linked to theft after gold items belonging to the victims went missing. He did not say whether the victims’ business interests were being probed. “Until now, the police are considering this to be a case of theft,” Gafà said.

He said three men were captured on CCTV entering the residence at 10:19pm on Tuesday 18 August, emerging four minutes later to escape in a getaway car, identified as a stolen white VW Tiguan with stolen number plates.

Gafà said Maciejowski was found with a shot to the head, while Pandolfino had two shots to the chest, one to the neck and another in the head.

The arrested man is understood to be Albanian national Daniel Muka, who is known to the police from a hold-up on a Tigné Point jewellery shop three years ago. He was out on bail.

READ ALSO: Who is Daniel Muka, the man linked to the Sliema double murder?

Gafa would not confirm the identity of the arrested man but described him as the prime suspect in the murder. There were two other people inside the Floriana apartment, who had no link to the murder, Gafà said. However, one of the men arrested is being questioned for having hidden the prime suspect.

Police investigations are ongoing and Gafà called for prudence at this delicate stage.

He said that at the time of the arrest, the man was holding a pistol in his hand. Forensic tests are underway to determine whether this was the same weapon used to kill the couple.

Gafà said flash bangs were used by armed police officers to disorientate the suspected aggressor before entering the apartment.

Police had been staking out the man after he stopped signing the bail book.

The arrest of the man follows the discovery on Friday of the getaway vehicle.

Getaway vehicle had fake firearms inside

Gafà said the getaway car found in the Pietà multi-storey car park owned by RMF, next to St Luke’s Hospital had a different set of number plates on it. He confirmed that electronic radio-jamming equipment was found inside the vehicle. Police also found clothes and items believed to have been stolen from the residence inside the vehicle. The number plates used on the night of the murder were also found inside.

Gafà said that replicas of two firearms - an AK47 assault rifle and a Thompson rifle - were also found in the vehicle.

Murder victim Pandolfino graduated as a doctor but moved to London where he worked as an investment banker for many years. Maciejowski, a British citizen of Polish decent, was an art dealer. Both used to wear heavy gold chains around their neck and were known to be wealthy.

READ MORE: Sliema double murder: Car used by hitmen found in Pieta multi-storey car park