LIVE | Maksar gang trial: Investigators found link between Caruana Galizia, Romeo Bone bombs

Lawyer claims Ellul was a police informer

The lawyer is making more and more references to Brignone’s testimony, and the police officer is trying to put these claims into context. For example, the lawyer says that Brignone knew that Ellul kept a secret mobile phone while in prison, and had told police about this. The police officer says a secret phone was never discovered, or at least he was not aware of one. However, he does admit that Brignone told police about receiving a surprising phone call from Ellul.

The police officer is telling jurors that there were major inconsistencies in her testimony, making it hard to follow up on certain claims. But he is insisting that the police took all possible action against Ellul when they arrested and interrogated him and when they searched his residence.

Darmanin’s next claim is that Kevin Ellul is an informer to the police. This leaves the witness dumbfounded. “I don’t even know what to answer to this,” he told the court in disbelief. The prosecution also wasn’t pleased with this claim. After a brief ruckus, the magistrate brings the courtroom under control.

Six bags of explosives

The lawyer is asking about the officer whether he remembers Brignone telling police about six bagfulls of explosives belonging to Ellul. The officer remembers this information, but says that Brignone had never told police exactly where this garage could be found. The lawyer says Brignone told police this garage could be found in Mellieħa, and that she described the layout and interiors of the garage to the police. However, the witness says he doesn’t remember the details. All he knows for sure is that Brignone could not remember exactly where this garage could be found.

This cross-examination is getting heated. The lawyer is asking about an escape plan to Italy that Ellul had planned, at least according to Brignone. But the officer insists that an escape plan to Italy makes no sense. A person looking to flee the justice system in Malta would go somewhere where Malta has less friendly police relations with. 

The lawyer now says that Brignone told police that Ellul knew when the Caruana Galizia bomb was supposed to detonate. The police officer denies that Ellul knew of an exact date. According to the witness, Ellul only seemed to have known about the plan in general, but not the details. 

Ellul shot and missed at Brignone, lawyer claims

Darmanin is now claiming that Brignone told police that Ellul fired a gun at her and missed her. “Did police not follow up on this? This is a very serious claim,” he tells the witness.

However, the police officer says that Brignone could not remember important details about this incident. She could not remember what year this happened and had not filed a police report on this.  

Darmanin is asking about a revolver that Brignone mentioned to police. The officer does not remember exactly what she said about this specific weapon, but he remembers this was mentioned but no weapons were found when police searched Ellul’s residence.

No evidence found against Kevin Ellul

Lawyer Rene Darmanin asks the officer why Agius would have approached Brincat. He says that he doesn’t know the exact story or reasoning behind this.

Darmanin also says that Nicole Brignone had given two statements to the police. The officer says it might have been one session with a break in between, which could have been reported as two statements. Darmanin says in the first statement, Brignone said she did not recognise Cachia and had only met Ellul a couple of times. This information changed during her second statement. Darmanin tells the officer that Brignone wanted to take back her statement, but the officer does not remember for sure.

The officer says that, to many of the questions asked to Brignone, she replied with a preamble saying that she was going through a bad time and was taking a lot of susbtances, meaning her memory was hazy.

The lawyer now says that Brignone had asked for protection. He asks the witness whether the police asked Brignone who she feared. The officer doesn't rule out that Brignone had asked for protection, but says that there wasn't a tangible risk at the time. According to Darmanin, Brignone was scared of Ellul. The officer says that Brignone told them that Ellul owned weapons and explosives, and had been dealing in drugs. 

Darmanin asks the inspector whether police investigated Ellul. He insists that Ellul was arrested, searched and interrogated. An investigation took place, but the police found nothing.

Identity parade led nowhere

Earlier we reported that someone close to Vincent Muscat was approached by someone a few days before he pleaded guilty. This person was Peter Brincat, who is the father of Muscat’s wife.

The police officer is describing the identity parade carried out for Brincat to determine whether he was approached by Robert Agius. According to the officer, from the feedback he received it appeared that Brincat did not recognise anyone in the identity parade.

Kevin Ellul denied having any contact with Degiorgios

On 10 July 2022, the police arrested Kevin Ellul in connection to the claims made by Brignone, Cachia and Spiteri. Police searched his Mellieħa residence but found nothing illegal.

When police interrogated Ellul, he chose not to answer to any questions. However, when the interrogation ended, he approached the police and said he wanted to clarify something.

During the second interrogation, he said he wanted to make it clear that he never met the Degiorgio brothers and wouldn’t be able to recognise them. Never in any way did he have any contact with them, he told police.

Back to the hearsay evidence

Cachia had told Agius that his previous girlfriend—Nicole Brignone—once told him that the Caruana Galizia bomb was made by Kevin Ellul.

However. the police officer says Nicole Brignone, who dated Kevin Ellul and Brandon Cachia, gave a different version of events. She told police that Ellul had spoken to her about the bomb, but he had been approached by the Degiorgio brothers and said he didn’t want to get involved.

Robert Agius approached by prisoners with information on Caruana Galizia bomb

A police officer from the homicide squad is testifying next. He was brought into the investigation the same week that the Agius brothers and Jamie Vella were arrested. His role was to coordinate the operation from within police headquarters. His involvement concerned both murders. He was receiving updates all through the day on the arrests. 

The officer is describing the identity parade that was carried out for Robert Agius. This was done because someone close to Vincent Muscat, who pleaded guilty to murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia, was approached by someone a few days before he pleaded guilty. This person suspected that he was approached by one of the Maksar brothers.

During interrogation, Robert Agius had told police that, when he was in prison, he was approached by two other prisoners—Brandon Cachia and Melchior Spiteri—that they have information on who procured the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia. Cachia and Spiteri confirmed this incident with police when questioned. The two testified in this trial by jury on 29 April.

Għargħur explosion could have been premature explosion

One of the defence lawyers is pressing Curmi on the idea that the Għargħur explosion that injured Kevin Ellul might have been a premature explosion. Curmi says that this is a possibility, but there are other possibilities too. He’s emphasising strongly on this being a possibility, not a fact.

Għargħur bomb might have been worked on at location by victim

Curmi explains three categories of bombs, or specifically ‘improvised explosive devices’ (IEDs):  timed, victim-operated and command. A timed bomb is usually connected to a clock, stopwatch or mobile phone so that the bomb detonates at a specific moment in time. A victim-operated bomb requires movement from the target in order to detonate. A command bomb is detonated at a person’s command, meaning it can be set off at any preferred time or place.

The prosecution refers Curmi to the Għargħur bomb attack. Curmi says there was no evidence of a firing switch, but pieces of metal and bolt were found. This means he cannot indicate for sure whether the bomb was one of these three types. He says the three theories are: someone placed it there and it activated when he entered the residence, someone else activated it when he entered the residence, or it was his own bomb. “From what we found, those are the three most substantial possibilities.”

Link between Bone, Caruana Galizia bomb attacks

Curmi split the bomb attacks into three categories. One particular category is composed of the bomb attacks in: Msida, which targeted Romeo Bone; Bidnija, which targeted Daphne Caruana Galizia; and Għargħur, which targeted Kevin Ellul. Curmi says very particular pieces of metal were identified in the remains of the attack, suggesting that these attacks were linked in manufacturing.

Investigators studied links between bomb attacks

Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi is testifying next. He had written a report exploring whether the bomb attacks that had taken place in Malta between 2014 and 2018 were linked. The exercise involved analysing the remains of the bomb to understand how it was manufactured.

He explains that in his report he wrote that bombs are composed of a power source, an initiator, and two switches: an arming switch and firing switch. These are common across all bombs, but certain other accessories could be indicative of a particular bomb maker. For example, a particular container for the bomb might be used by the same maker. This was the point of Curmi’s study.

“If a particular form is being used, that could be an indication that these common fragments in a number of bombs could be coming from the same bomb maker. While some accessories are difficult to pinpoint, others can give an indication of particularity. There’s a chance or possibility that they are done by the same person.”

Suspected drugs and over €50,000 in cash found in Robert Agius's car

The constable is explaining his role in the arrests of Robert and Adrian Agius. In February 2021 he was part of the team that carried out the arrest warrant on Robert Agius. Agius was driving a car at speed, but when the car stopped, police carried out the arrest. The constable says Agius cooperated with police—he had to take care of Agius while his colleagues searched the vehicle he had been driving.

The next witness is an assistant commissioner. He had assigned the three arrest warrants—two for the Agius brothers and one for Jamie Vella—to three different teams in the police squad. He was part of the team in charge of carrying out the arrest on Robert Agius specifically. The had found Robert Agius in the driver’s seat of a car. Adrian Agius was with him. The search on Robert Agius’s car led police to discovering €55,000 in cash. More cash was found an Agius’s person. In Adrian Agius's car, police found a packet of what they suspected to be drugs.

Court resumes

We’re back in session with a police constable testifying next.

Court on break

The court will be on break till 3pm. We will continue our live reporting when the session resumes.

Suspected getaway car caught on CCTV

CCTV footage is being played in court. It’s a black and white video of a street with cars parked along the side. In one part of the clip, a man carrying a loaded box can be seen walking outside of the building towards the garage ramp. In another part, a car is seen driving through the road and entering the garage complex through the ramp. Shortly after, a different car drives through the road and entering the complex. This is the car that interested investigators.Later, this car can be seen driving through the road after exiting the complex from the ramp. Investigators determined this to be the same car due to common features seen in both clips.

CCTV did not catch Chircop entering garage

One of the defence lawyers is asking about the Carmel Chircop investigation. Bajada says he had entered the garage complex but the police had not told him of any CCTV inside the complex.

Another lawyer asks whether Chircop was seen entering the garage complex in the CCTV footage. According to Bajada, he wasn’t. There is no indication of what time the lawyer entered the complex.

Chris Cardona met Alfred Degiorgio at 2017 party

Bajada is speaking about a photo of obtained during investigations. The photo seems to show the former economy minister Chris Cardona at a party with one of the Degiorgio brothers. The photo is being displayed on the television, but it’s grainy and in black and white, making it hard to decipher from the visitor’s gallery. However, it definitely shows three men posing with each other inside a swimming pool. Jurors and lawyers have been given a colour version of the photo. It had been claimed years ago that the minister met with Alfred Degiorgio at a bachelor’s party in a villa in 2017. You can read more about this story here.

Court in session

The court is back in session. Bajada will continue testifying on his work in the two inquiries. 

Court on break

The court will be having a short break till 11:30am. We will continue this liveblog when the session resumes.

Triangulation led investigators to fatal SMS

Bajada is explaining how triangulation helped investigators determine the mobile phone that ultimately killed Daphne Caruana Galizia. By analysing data from nearby antennae, the team of investigators found which text, and therefore which mobile phone, triggered the car bomb.

“In forensics there’s a saying: every contact leaves a trace. But there’s also another saying: an element of luck plays in favour of the investigator,” he says.

Bajada also says that investigators managed to reconstruct Caruana Galizia’s phone and obtained WhatsApp and email data.

Expert mapped getaway route using CCTV stills

Bajada is now explaining the CCTV footage obtained. He says that stills from the footage allowed him to map out the route taken by a car that was seen entering and leaving the complex at the time of Chircop’s death. He says the CCTV stills allowed him to determine where the car came from, how it got into the complex and how it left.

No footage is being shown in court, but jurors have acess to the stills and will be able to watch the footage during deliberation.

Phone calls in Tigne

A couple of days ago, a police officer testifying in this trial told the court that one of her colleagues had seen Chircop in Tigne a couple of days before his murder. He was speaking on his mobile, arguing with someone and mentioning the name ‘Adrian’.

Through the call logs, Bajada was able to verify that Chircop was at Tigne point on 2 October 2015. He made three call attempts at 10:40am, 11:01am and 11:22am.

Call profiles and burner phones

Bajada had analysed the CCTV footage and electronic devices connected to the Carmel Chircop inquiry. The prosecution is asking him about his investigative methods. For example, Bajada is explaining that call profiles obtained from service providers are essential to investigations because they give the exact dates and times of phone calls. In investigations, call profiles are used as a control to verify telephones and SMS data on mobile phones.

He's also explaining the difference between feature phones and burner phones. A feature phone, unlike more modern phones, only has basic mobile features but it can be topped up for calls and messaging. A burner phone is an American term, in that you can buy a phone with a SIM card embedded with a limited number of calls and texts. Once you reach that limit, the phone can be thrown away.

Good morning. We're inside the courtroom to continue our live reporting on the trial by jury of Adrian and Robert Agius, known as the Maksar brothers, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella. The sitting has already started. The first witness is court-appointed IT expert Martin Bajada.