Maltese police were tipped off by US authorities over attempts to purchase a firearm through the dark web and send it to the Portomaso address of Yorgen Fenech’s deceased father, George Fenech.

George Cremona, the Head of the Counter-Terrorism Unit & Criminal Intelligence Unit, revealed the plot during today’s sitting of the public inquiry related to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Cremona revealed that on 29th September 2019, his department was informed of an attempt to purchase a firearm, a suppressor and ammunition from the dark web site, Berlusconi. The gun was meant to be delivered to the office of Fenech’s father, George, who passed away in 2014.

Investigators planned to pursue the case in a similar manner to that of Jomic Calleja, who is facing charges of attempting to import C4 military-grade explosives.

The site was taken down before they could pursue the issue further. This means that they cannot confirm who ordered the gun or whether it arrived.

Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi noted that the time period coincided with a period when state witness Melvin Theuma was fearing for his life.

This is not the first time Fenech, who is the main suspect in the assassination, has been linked to dubious orders of fatal items.

In September, Inspector Kurt Zahra confirmed that Fenech tried to purchase cyanide sometime during 2019, believed to be April. Theuma is believed to have been the target.

Theuma has been granted a presidential pardon on condition that he reveals all he knows about the assassination of Caruana Galizia. He has implicated Yorgen Fenech as being the person behind the murder and has said he suspects, but has no proof that former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri was involved too.

Schembri, along with former OPM official Kenneth Camilleri, remain under investigation over their links to the murder. Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been interrogated under caution.

Throughout sittings, Theuma has repeatedly said he feared for his life, explaining that he was the only person who could link Fenech to the men who were hired to carry out the assassination, George Degiorgio, Alfred Degiorgio, and Vince Muscat.

In fact, Theuma informed Cremona about the existence of secret recordings and other evidence for leverage should plans to kill him off emerge.

Theuma’s safety has been put in jeopardy with a suspected suicide attempt last July shocking the nation. He was recently admitted to hospital over stomach pains and is yet to reappear in court.

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