Malta’s most wanted couple: Marzia Maatouk added to Europol’s fugitives list

Europol has added Maltese fugitive Marzia Miramar Maatouk, the partner of dangerous criminal Jomic Calleja, to its list of most wanted criminals.

Malta police believe that Jomic Calleja Maatouk and his partner, Marzia Miramar Maatouk, may have left Malta by private boat to evade justice.

Both were handed down effective prison sentences in August 2023 in separate cases but were not jailed because they appealed their respective judgments. Maltese law allows prison sentences handed down by magistrates to be postponed, pending a final decision on appeal. As a result, Calleja Maatouk was also released from police custody.

The Polonium plot: how Jomic Calleja trawled dark web for explosives and radioactive poison

Jomic Calleja Maatouk was found guilty of attempting to import C4 explosive that he had purchased on the dark web. The package was intercepted by American law enforcement agents, who replaced the explosive with a dud before allowing it to continue on its way to Malta.

During court proceedings, it emerged that Calleja Maatouk had also discussed with his supplier on the dark web, the possibility of buying poisons and radioactive polonium.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech sentenced him to five years in jail, describing Calleja Maatouk as a dangerous person.

Marzia Miramar Maatouk was handed down a 15-month effective jail term in a separate case after she was found guilty of possessing more than 300g of cannabis. The street value of the drug was estimated to be more than €6,000.

Miramar Maatouk had been arrested in 2019 along with her partner in Valley Road, Birkirkara and a search of the vehicle led to the cannabis discovery. She was subsequently charged in September 2019 with possession with intent to supply,