Italian police probe Maltese suspect's possible link to most wanted Mafia boss

37 year-old truck driver John Anthony Farrugia of Kirkop is being held in Palermo's notorious 'l'Ucciardone' prison, after being caught with two kilogrammes of cannabis destined for the Maltese market.

Farrugia was arrested as he drove his Malta-registered truck into Palermo's harbour and queued for the GNV's ferry 'Tenacia' which was to bring him back to Malta loaded with car parts.

Investigators ordered Farrugia's truck to be searched after he was intercepted making a number of phone calls to five Sicilians, known for their affiliation to the mafia in the fishing port of Mazara del Vallo and in the city of Trapani.

Investigators told MaltaToday that Farrugia was caught with 20 packs of cannabis, amounting to two kilogrammes hidden inside the car parts he was carrying.

Farrugia was filmed receiving the packets from 47 year-old Fabrizio Messina Denaro who is a nephew to Italy's most wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro.

Both men were arrested at Palermo's harbour and taken in for questioning, with Magistrate Bernardo Petralia ordering their detention and immediate transfer to jail.

The link to Messina Denaro has raised eyebrows and has led investigators to re-open an inquiry into the wanted Mafia boss possible links to Malta.

This line of inquiry had reportedly been followed between 2000 and 2004 when messages 'pizzini' had been intercepted between a woman who frequently travelled to Malta and Messina Denaro.

According to the investigators, John Anthony Farrugia made numerous trips to Malta with drugs acquired from the Sicilian clan, and tracked his regular sea trips between Malta, Livorno and Palermo over the past months.

Some 398 phone calls were made by Farrugia to Messina Denaro and other suspects who were also arrested over the past few days in an operation nicknamed 'White Tuna'. The name came from the references to cocaine over the phone as "white tuna".

The rest of the gang was arrested in Trapani and Palermo, and investigators identified them as 32 year-old Davide Giunta, Claudio Montevago 52, Tunisian-born Atef Chaniour 36, and Francesco Gancitano 31.

Among the arrested is Claudio Corona, brother to Anna Corona who is mother to Jessica Pulizzi who is in jail over the kidnapping and disappearance of toddler Denise Pipitone, who had made the headlines in Italy in September 2004.