Dangerous criminals in prison with mobile phones. Who’s accountable?

The discovery of mobile phones in the possession of three dangerous criminals in prison is a matter of serious concern. It is even more alarming that the mobile phones were allegedly being used to plan a murder.

Robert Agius, one of the Tal-Maksar brothers, and George Degiorgio are no ordinary criminals. They were members of a ruthless organised crime group, which was responsible, among other criminal acts, for the murders of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop. The mere fact that they possessed mobile phones, while serving life sentences in prison is a threat to society and not just a random breach of prison rules.

The third person to have a mobile phone was Damiano Torrisi, an Italian national serving time for a violent robbery in Rabat during which an elderly shopkeeper sustained serious injuries.

According to information that has reached journalists so far, Agius and Torrisi were hatching a murder plot. The police acted on a tip-off that led to the discovery of the mobile phones in Agius’s and Torrisi’s prison cells, as well as that of George Degiorgio. At this stage it is unclear whether the police investigation into the case will lead to charges being filed.

And while it is positive that police action helped uncover the mobile phones and foil a sinister plan to eliminate someone, this is not enough to put everyone’s mind at rest.

There are many more questions that need clear answers.

How did the mobile phones enter prison in the first place? Was it a question of negligence by prison officials or do the criminals have accomplices within the prison system? Were these mobile phones used to threaten witnesses? And, given the serious nature of the criminal offence that was purportedly being planned, why wasn’t a magisterial inquiry initiated?

It is not enough for the home affairs minister to be content with the police’s pre-emptive action. Neither is it enough for him to pledge the introduction of changes to the Criminal Code to make it a criminal act for inmates to be in mere possession of a mobile phone.

Glenn Bedingfield needs to ensure that the systems intended to keep high-profile prison inmates in check are working properly. This is a question of accountability.

It is incomprehensible how people like Agius and Degiorgio should be able to obtain a mobile phone from which they could easily be conducting their shady business while behind bars. The mobile phone discovery takes on more significance when just last week, George Degiorgio’s son was arrested and charged with drug trafficking.

And this is not the first instance where prison regulations were blatantly disregarded. A few months ago, Robert Agius’s brother, Adrian Agius, was caught using a laptop that had unauthorised internet access.

These are serious incidents and it is about time that someone is held accountable for these failures. Bedingfield must demand accountability from the prison authorities. If there are weaknesses in the system, as there evidently are, they should be fixed. If there are bad apples within the structure, they should be weeded out. If the issue is one of ilack of rersources, the minister must ensure the right investment is done.

It cannot be that dangerous criminals that are part of wider networks remain a danger to society even behind bars. We thought that with the life sentences they were handed down Malta became a safer place. It is Bedingfield’s duty to ensure that the success to bring down people like the Degiorgio brothers and the Tal-Maksar gang is not lost because they can continue to mastermind operations from inside prison.