Investigator says star witness alleged former police inspector was behind 2008 murder

Taking the witness stand before Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona, the former homice squad chief inspector Chris Pullicino said that he had been told by PC 99 Mario Portelli, that former police inspector David Gatt was behind the unsolved murder of Renzo Borg in Xemxija on December 11, 2008.

Portelli - a star witness to the prosecution in the case against David Gatt, who stands charged with masterminding major crimes, including the failed heist on HSBC bank headquarters in Qormi in 2010, a failed assault on a cash van in Santa Venera and a hold-up on an Attard jeweller - alleged that Borg was murdered over a "drug deal gone bad."

According to Pullicino, PC99 Mario Portelli had indicated a restaurateur from St. Paul's Bay, identified as Raymond Abela, as a person who was "connected" to David Gatt, and who was also involved in the murder.

The victim, originally from Birkirkara, had died shortly after being admitted to hospital after sustaining two gunshot wounds to his head and back as he was entering his apartment building in Triq il-Ħaġra l-Wieqfa, in Xemxija.

Inspector Pullicino took the witness stand after the restaurateur testified last month and labelled PC99 Mario Portelli as an "outright liar".

Pullicino said that he had ordered Raymond Abela's arrest in February 2010, shortly after David Gatt was arrested and charged with the string of major crimes.

Under interrogation, Abela denied knowing or ever speaking to the murder victim, and also denied ever receiving any drugs for free from accused David Gatt.

Abela was also questioned as to why he had memorised David Gatt's cell phone number on his phone as "Totò" - allegedly for the Corleonese mafia boss Totò Riina - and replied that it was the name Gatt had told him to write after he had bought a new phone and entered the numbers he needed.

But Abela had also deleted the phone number after Gatt's arrest, saying that he didn't need it anymore.

Quoting from the statement Abela had released during his interrogation, Inspector Chris Pullicino repeatedly asked questions related to Renzo Borg's murder.

Abela denied any involvement in the murder, and insisted that he only knew about the murder through the media. Abela claimed to have known David Gatt for over 10 years - when he was a police inspector in Rabat -  however, he could not say anything against him.

He denied ever having greeted Gatt saying "benvenuto Zu' Totò" (welcome, Uncle Totò - by way of a Sicilian greeting) and stressed he didn't know how to speak Italian.

Addressing the court, Pullicino said that he had arrested and interrogated a number of people during his investigations into the murder of Renzo Borg, but while all had been released, "a common denominator, which also came out of PC99's information was present, that Borg was murdered over an alleged drug deal gone bad."

The case continues in October, when Raymond Abela is to be summoned once more before Magistrate Micallef Trigona.