Man, 19, arrested over explosives found in Ħamrun garage following Mile End incident

A 19-year-old male from Santa Venera has been arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives that could be a match to that which generated the small explosion heard on Thursday early morning in the Mile End area of Ħamrun.

The explosives material, so far unspecified, was found in a Ħamrun garage.

The police have evacuated residents in the vicinity of the garage.

A magisterial inquiry is now being led by Magistrate Ian Farrugia.

On Thursday, the AFM Explosives Ordnance Disposal unit and police were called on site at the Labour Party headquarters on the Mile End road to investigate a suspicious package found a few metres away.

At 8:20am, a report was called in to the police about metal casing spotted on the doorway of a house close to the building.

In a Facebook post, Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Robert Abela said a small explosion had been heard outside the building throughout the night, but this was not confirmed by the police spokesperson.

There was heavy police presence outside the Labour HQ on Thursday during its evacuation, with roads leading to building have been closed off.

The Nationalist Party expressed solidarity with the Labour Party over the incident and requested that the police investigate the Nationalist headquarters’ surroundings, which is only down the road from the Labour premises, over risk of similar actions.