Rainews deems Libya fuel smuggling ‘most credible’ motive behind Caruana Galizia’s murder | News Malta – All Maltese & English news in one place
Italian news agency Rainews24 has published a report in which it links Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder with the Libyan oil smuggling operations. In an article published earlier today, Rianews is saying that out of the various possible leads which could explain the motive behind Caruana Galizia’s murder, oil smuggling reports are deemed as “the most credible”. The courts in Catania are conducting an inquiry dubbed “Dirty Oil” which is looking into the involvement of Italian nationals and citizens from other countries, including Malta, in the oil trafficking business between Libya and the Southern parts of the Mediterranean.
Raidnews spoke with Ann Marlowe, an American journalist who was the first to start investigating this issue and broke the story through articles about it in 2015. She quotes her sources from Libya claiming that Semtex, the material which was used in the explosives which killed the Maltese journalist on Monday last week, derived from Zwara, Libya.
Zwara happens to be the place which allegedly hosts Bin Khalifa, nicknamed “the king of oil smuggling. It is also home to the mafia which takes care of the oil smuggling operations between Libya, Malta and Italy, the American journalist tells Rainews. “Semtex is considered the signature of terrorism and mafia in Libya,” Marlowe adds.
The story explains how Daphne Caruana Galizia had written a post on bombs placed under cars and how she associated them with diesel trafficking. It was also interesting to note how the journalist asked if Darren Debono could be the next possible victim. Debono was arrested in Lampedusa a couple of days ago, on 20 October. Together with other names, such as that of Nicola Orazio Romeo, Darren Debono’s name featured in the Catania inquiry.
The former Malta international footballer was arrested after being searched for by the Italian police. Prosecutors are charging Debono with the facilitation of Libya fuel smuggling operation.
Another Maltese national was also arrested recently in Catania. Gordon Debono was arrested on Friday, a month after the authorities got hold of the infamous Bin Khalifa who was arrested in Tirpoli.
Stories of the links between Malta and Libya in the oil smuggling business are not new. Recent car bombs which occurred in Malta have been indirectly linked to this illegal industry although the cases are yet to be completely solved. Back in January, the Libyan authorities asked the Maltese government to provide further assistance and collaborate in the fight against fuel smuggling from Libya.
Original article found on The Malta Independent
