Police are investigating a claim that the former Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri hatched a plan for murder suspect Yorgen Fenech to escape Malta a week before his arrest, sources close to the investigation have told Lovin Malta.

The alleged plan, sources explained, was for Fenech to go to Gozo and stay at the farmhouse of Adrian Vella, the doctor of both Fenech and Schembri who is also being questioned by police.

Fenech would have then caught a boat to Tunis before boarding a flight to Dubai.

The supposed escape was meant to take place a week before Fenech was intercepted by AFM patrol boats as he attempted to flee Malta aboard his yacht. It is believed that the businessman did not want to go through with the plan because he was hesitant to leave his whole life behind.

It appears that the fear of an imminent arrest eventually spurred Fenech to try to leave Malta.

Vella is currently being questioned about his part in this story, while Fenech and Schembri remain in custody.

The arrest of Vella early this morning has spurred on a flood of revelations about his relationship with both Schembri and Fenech.

Lovin Malta revealed that Vella admitted to passing on secret messages to Fenech from Schembri while the former was under police bail, following his arrest in connection with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Schembri, who is now under arrest in connection with the murder, is believed to have been using Vella to pressure Fenech not to expose him in the case and other corruption cases.

When contacted by Lovin Malta earlier this week, Vella insisted that he had no relationship whatsoever with Schembri. However, a quick look on his Facebook page shows a wealth of photos of him blatantly promoting Rummo, the Italian pasta brand which is imported to Malta by Schembri’s group of companies.

Sources also revealed that Vella accompanied  Schembri on several trips to the US to undergo cancer treatment.

Lovin Malta has also reported that Schembri was one of the last people Yorgen Fenech called before he tried to flee Malta on his yacht last week.

Meanwhile, sources also believe Schembri was keeping Fenech informed of developments in the case.

PN MP Jason Azzopardi, the lawyer of Caruana Galizia’s family, has even claimed that Schembri tipped off the three men accused of carrying out the crime of their imminent arrest.

Schembri has since resigned as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff. However, Schembri was spotted at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s house on the eve of his arrest.