Quotes of the week

"They were packed like merchandise. It is shameful."
An Italian Guardia di Finanza officer describing how 20 migrants were allegedly hidden in a speedboat by three Maltese smugglers headed to Sicily.

"One big crime scene."
Birldlife Malta conservation manager Andre Raine describing the discovery of dead protected birds in Mizieb and expressing surprise that police did not close off the area.

"I was told not to go to work until further notice."
Captain Mario Grech, after he was suspended following his claims of major safety flaws on the Gozo Channel ferries.

"I am breaking the law for you."
A magistrate to a 21-year-old woman who admitted to multiple theft, on his decision to ban the publication of her name.

"A positive step forward."
Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici on news that only six EU member states have agreed to resettle refugees and other protected immigrants currently in Malta.