Maltese Authorities Set To Issue European Arrest Warrant For Criminal Partners Who Fled The Island
Maltese authorities are set to issue a European Arrest Warrant for Jomic Calleja Maatouk and his partner Marzia Maatouk, who fled the country in the last days.
Jomic Calleja Maatouk, who had recently been sentenced to five years in prison for importing explosives, went missing, together with his partner.
They are currently believed to be in Serbia.
According to sources close to Times of Malta, authorities are preparing to issue arrest warrants for the couple. The information suggests that the couple is likely located in Serbia, a country that has an extradition agreement in place with Malta.
Jomic was listed as a wanted individual by leading authorities after he failed to sign a bail book for several days.
This wasn’t his first run-in with the law. In 2015, he was nabbed on a Sicilian train bound for mainland Italy due to allegations related to cannabis trafficking.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech had previously described him as a “lethal weapon” and someone poised to unleash “the gates of hell upon whoever he considered an inconvenience.”
Meanwhile, his partner Marzia was sentenced to 15 months in jail last month following her conviction for possessing cannabis with intent. The incident occurred in August 2019, when she was only 19 years old.
Marzia’s disappearance, alongside her husband’s, has been the cause of immense distress for her family. With no online activity on WhatsApp since the previous Wednesday and unanswered phone calls which redirect to voicemail.
The situation took a grim turn when Marzia failed to appear for a shift at her brother’s shop. Her worried grandmother filed a police report.
When police and civil protection officials searched the couple’s residence on Saturday, they found it empty but for eight dogs and a bird.
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