Police say investigations in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case are continuing

Police have continued carrying out searches and interrogating people in connection with the Caruana Galizia murder case • Europol are involved

The police raid on the potato shed in Marsa in December 2017: Yorgen Fenech has claimed that Keith Schembri tipped him off on the raid some days before
The police raid on the potato shed in Marsa in December 2017: Yorgen Fenech has claimed that Keith Schembri tipped him off on the raid some days before

The police have carried out searches in various places and interrogated other people in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, the corps said.

In a rare statement released on Friday, the police said investigations in the murder case were continuing “with intensity” despite the arraignment of four people.

The police have been under immense pressure after one of the suspects – Yorgen Fenech – implicated the prime minister’s former chief of staff Keith Schembri in the murder.

Schembri had been arrested and interrogated but later released.

Fenech yesterday claimed under oath that Schembri used to pass on information about the murder investigation, including sensitive details such as that his mobile phone was tapped. Fenech also alleged that Schembri had also tipped him off on the massive police raid that happened in December 2017, during which the three men who detonated the car bomb were arrested.

The police said that the investigation involved the homicide squad, the economic crimes unit and were being done in full collaboration with Europol.

“All investigations are being carried out under the aegis of the magisterial inquiry,” the police said.

The police said that every bit of information the police collected in the past few days was being investigated.

“We would like to clarify that because of the sensitivity of these investigations, the police cannot at this stage give more details that could prejudice the case,” the statement read.

George Degiorgio, Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat were charged with carrying out the murder in December 2017. They now await trial.

The mastermind, Yorgen Fenech, was charged this week and is waiting for the compilation of evidence against him to start.

Meanwhile, Fenech has initiated a constitutional case to have lead investigator Inspector Keith Arnaud removed from the case, claiming that Arnaud had a close relationship with Schembri and had been briefing him about ongoing investigations.

Caruana Galizia was killed on 16 October 2017 as she drove down the road outside her house in Bidnija.