Former inspector was never mentioned during investigations into bank heists

The case against former police inspector David Gatt keeps losing momentum as more witnesses tell the court that the accused was never investigated in connection with various theft reports.

Gatt, 40, is charged with complicity in a series of armed hold-ups and heists, amongst them the successful HSBC Balzan hold-up in 2007, and the botched attempts on the HSBC headquarters in June 2010 and at Gold Market jewellery, Attard in October 2010.

In today’s sitting, Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona heard five police officers and a bank representatives deny that Gatt was involved in a number of theft reports they had investigated.

PC310 Anthony Meli, PS362 Wayne Borg, PS329 Reuben Saliba, WPS48 Sarah Zerafa and PC417 Louis Degabriele took the witness stand and under oath confirmed that the name of the accused had never surface in the investigations of various thefts they had worked on.

The next witness was HSBC employee Henry Aquilina, who also denied any knowledge of David Gatt’s name being mentioned during the investigation of two hold ups at HSBC offices.

The former police inspecto,r whose removal from the force was found to have been illegal, has since been a practicing lawyer.

In 2010, he was arrested as the alleged mastermind of the HSBC heist, with PC 99 Mario Portelli claiming that the self-styled 'mafia don' had tried to rope him into his gang. But in previous sittings the star witness of the case, Portelli came under heavy fire when other witnesses did not corroborate his allegations.

A mobile phone found inside the mattress of inmate Romeo Bone produced photos of family members and 35 text messages, but none of the 93 contacts stored inside included that of David Gatt.

Bugibba restaurateur Raymond Abela dubbed the witness "a liar from A to Z" in court, after Portelli claimed Gatt had kissed the restaurant owner's hand and spoke to him in Italian.

A police forensic officer explained that no evidence of shooting was found on a tree which Portelli claimed had been shot at over 33 times by Gatt as target practice.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona put off the case for 21 August.