The mobile number of Former Economy Minister Chris Cardona was the only number found on one of the burner phones used by the three men charged with assassinating journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Middleman Melvin Theuma confirmed the fact during today’s sitting against murder suspect Yorgen Fenech following questioning from Caruana Galizia family lawyer Jason Azzopardi.

The mobile phone was discovered in the sea following the arrest of the men, Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat, after a raid of a potato shed in Marsa on 5th December 2017.

It is still unclear why Cardona’s number was the only one on the phone. However, sources have said that all will be revealed as the sittings progress.

Theuma and Fenech have confirmed that they knew about the imminent arrests and had informed the men. Fenech claims he got the information directly from the former Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri.

Homicide Inspector Keith Arnaud has confirmed that he and former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta told Schembri and Joseph Muscat about the arrests the very same day Fenech acquired the information.

This was not the only instance where Cardona was mentioned during today’s sitting. In one of Theuma’s secret recordings of Fenech, Fenech can be heard saying that he was secretly lobbying with “Cardona”, “Owen” [Bonnici], and “Ix-Xih” [Joseph Muscat] over Vince Muscat’s pardon request.

Muscat, it’s been claimed, was willing to cough up information on Tal-Maksar, the Agius brothers who allegedly supplied the bomb, and seven other murders. However, he was reluctant to give information about the HSBC bank heist because of higher-ups involved.

Cardona resigned as Economy Minister following an alleged frame-up attempt from Schembri and Fenech. He was reinstated shortly after. However, he was left out of Prime Minister Robert Abela’s cabinet.

He remains an MP and the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader.