Man suspected of trying to help immigrants leave Malta

A Libyan is expected to be arraigned after a fishing boat intercepted by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) led the police to suspect that he was assisting five Egyptians leave Malta illegally, The Times has learnt.

The AFM said that at about 5.45 a.m., a patrol boat noted a Libyan trawler with six people on board half a nautical mile off Marsaxlokk.

When the patrol boat approached the fishing vessel, one of the men started waving a piece of cloth and then jumped overboard.

The AFM retrieved the man from the sea and the five men on board were escorted to Wied il-Buni in Birżebbuġa where the "crew of fishermen" and their vessel were handed over to the police, the AFM said.

The police referred to the people on board as illegal immigrants and not fishermen.

Investigations led the police to suspect that the Libyan, who owns the trawler, was helping the other five men, identified as Egyptians, to leave Malta clandestinely.