UPDATE: 8:42 a.m.
This morning, at approximately 10:00 a.m., the two men suspected in connection with the recent armed robberies in Sliema and San Ġwann are expected to be arraigned in court before Magistrate Monica Vella.
This development follows two dramatic incidents that unfolded yesterday. Police were initially investigating a robbery in Sliema when they received a second report of an armed hold-up, this time at a retail outlet on Triq tal-Balal in San Ġwann at around 11:30 a.m. Two masked individuals, brandishing a knife, threatened the cashier and demanded money before fleeing the scene in a red Toyota Ractis.
Law enforcement officers, who had already launched a manhunt for the vehicle, managed to track it down in Ħamrun shortly after the second robbery. The car was intercepted on Triq Mountbatten, where officers arrested the driver – a 42-year-old Maltese man from Birżebbuġa.
Further investigations linked the same red Toyota to the earlier Sliema robbery, leading to the arrest of a second suspect – a 37-year-old Libyan man residing in Sliema. He was apprehended at his home.
Magistrate Joseph Mifsud has launched a formal inquiry, and investigations into both incidents remain ongoing.
UPDATE: Thursday 2:30p.m. –
While investigations into the Sliema robbery were underway, police received another report of a second armed robbery at around 11:30 a.m. This time, the incident occurred at a shop in Triq tal-Balal, San Ġwann. Two masked men, armed with a knife, entered the premises and demanded cash from the cashier. The suspects fled the scene in a red Toyota Ractis.
Shortly after the second incident, police officers conducting searches for the vehicle spotted it being driven in Ħamrun. It was stopped in Triq Mountbatten, where the driver, a 42-year-old Maltese man from Birżebbuġa, was arrested.
Further investigations revealed that the same vehicle had also been used in the earlier robbery in Sliema. This led to the arrest of the second suspected assailant, a 37-year-old Libyan national residing in Sliema, who was apprehended at his residence.
Magistrate Joseph Mifsud has been informed of the case and appointed an inquiry. Police investigations into both robberies are ongoing.
In the early hours of this morning, at around 2:00 a.m., police were informed of a robbery that had occurred at a shop on Triq ix-Xatt in Sliema.
Police officers responded immediately and, through preliminary investigations, found that two men, allegedly armed with knives, had entered the shop and demanded money from the cashier – a 25-year-old man from Nepal.
The suspects fled the scene after stealing a sum of cash and other items. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.
Police are currently searching for the two suspects, and investigations are ongoing.
News Editor
Journalist and Newscaster
Leave a Reply