The man involved in a manhunt in the Mizieb woodlands has a criminal history that includes drug trafficking, prison sentences, and a previous chase in an attempt to flee police arrest a few years back.

Aidan Bartolo was arrested at midnight following an hours-long chase by police throughout the woodlands.

Police spokesperson Brandon Pisani has confirmed that police from the Drug Squad were tailing Bartolo when the suspect sped away, intentionally crashing into police cars in the process. Gunshots were fired by police with Bartolo eventually fleeing on foot. 

He was discovered at midnight with the tall grass and trees of the area.

Investigations are ongoing but it is believed he will be charged in the coming days. 

However, this is not Bartolo’s first brush with the law. In May 2017, Bartolo was sentenced to 39 months in prison and fined €2,000 after he admitted to possession of 31 sachets of cocaine and breaching court orders.

At the time, the courts had heard how Bartolo had driven off when he had noticed the police on the eve of that arrest, running a red light in the process, before being apprehended a few hundred metres down the road.

Bartolo, who was just 20 years old at the time, had been convicted of theft just a few months prior and had been out on bail in connection with a second robbery.

In May 2020, Bartolo was again found guilty of a string of thefts committed in January 2016, which saw him and an accomplice target bars and kiosks to steal cigarettes and cash.

Bartolo was sent to a 28-month jail term but appears he was let out early. It remains to be seen why he was released. 

As for now, investigations are ongoing with police scant on details. More will be revealed in court sittings.

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