Deputy head of Security Services returns to AFM posting

The deputy head of the Malta Security Services, Major Mark Galea, has stepped down from his position and returned to his army role in intelligence with the Armed Forces of Malta.

Two army sources confirmed that Galea had returned to his post with the AFM at the start of the week, while another source close to Galea said the army major had tendered his resignation.

A spokesperson for the Ministry for Home Affairs said Galea resigned from the MSS for “personal reasons”. The spokesperson also denied that Galea, as suggested in other sections of the media, resigned due to conflict between himself and the head of the Security Service.

Galea had a brief stint in the British army before returning to the AFM, and then left the army for a job with Siemens before being asked to take up the position of deputy head of the Malta Security Services.

Sources said Galea had been one of the lead investigators into the disappearance of the merchant vessel MV Arctic Sea, the Maltese-registered vessel that went missing in 2009, ostensibly after having been hijacked by the Russian navy due to an unsanctioned missile delivery to the Middle East.