Who is Daniel Muka, the man linked to the Sliema double murder?

Albanian national Daniel Muka was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Sliema double murder after police raided a derelict apartment in Floriana.

Muka’s arrest comes days after the vehicle used by three hitmen, who murdered Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski at their Sliema home, was found in the Pietà multi-storey carpark next to St Luke's Hospital.

Equipment used to disrupt radio and mobile signals was found inside the vehicle, as well as other objects which indicate that the murder was carried out by professional hitmen.

But who is Muka and what criminal history does he have?

READ ALSO: Armed robbery suspect charged with attempted murder of three police officers

This is not his first brush with the law. Muka was charged with the attempted murder of three police officers, resisting arrest and causing slight injuries, as well as the illegal possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine in 2017.

The incident happened when police went to arrest Muka for his part in an armed hold-up on the Tigné Point outlet of Diamonds International, a jewellery shop.

Daniel Muka posing with a tiger

Muka was one of two people arrested in connection with the hold-up during which €300,000 were stolen..

During his arrest at St George’s Bay, Muka pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the officers and attempted to fire the weapon at them several times, but the trigger jammed.

Two people were injured during the Tigné Point heist.

Daniel’s brother, Begtash Muka, had also been involved in the robbery, after the police had tracked him down through DNA analysis.

The two had managed to escape with an unspecified amount of jewellery, after entering the shop in masks and wigs while wielding a shotgun, batons and axes.

The security officer, an Italian who was employed by G4S for a number of years and the supervisor on site, was attacked by one of the robbers, who hit him on the head with the butt of a shotgun.

Begtash Muka’s mugshot

Muka was charged with the attempted murder of the police officers in October 2017 and faced robbery charges connected to the Diamonds International heist some weeks later.

He was eventually granted bail.

Begtash Muka had also been charged with carrying a handgun while trying to scale the perimeter fence at Malta International Airport.

When he saw soldiers approaching, Begtash Muka ran off in the direction of the Safi military barracks, pulling out a handgun, which the court later determined was a replica, and pointing it at Detention Services officers before being wrestled to the ground by AFM soldiers.

Police found an abandoned Volkswagen with stolen number plates near the perimeter fence which they think was used by the accused.

READ ALSO: Police make arrests linked to Sliema double murder in Floriana raid

READ ALSO: Man charged with attempted murder over 2017 Tigné heist