Police throw the book at ‘the general’

The fugitive the police hunted for almost a month and allegedly dubbed “the general” in a criminal gang, Fabio Psaila, was charged in court yesterday with the attempted murder of two policemen and the failed heist on the HSBC Qormi headquarters.

Mr Psaila, 36, of Sta Venera, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of police constables Kenneth Ciangura and Kurt Gauci, who were injured when they disrupted a hold-up on the HSBC headquarters in June.

Wearing a blue zip-up tracksuit with red trimmings, Mr Psaila stood quietly before Magistrate Antonio Mizzi and only spoke in a low voice to give his particulars and file a not-guilty plea.

Mr Psaila had been on the run since December 3, when three men armed with a sawn-off shotgun tried to rob jeweller Michael Mizzi and his son, Silvio, outside their Attard residence. But Mr Mizzi Jnr wrestled the weapon out of the robbers’ hands and fired at them, injuring Mr Psaila in the hand and in other parts of his body. Darren Debono, known as It-Topo, was badly injured in the leg in the incident. He is still in hospital.

In court, Mr Psaila was not wearing any visible medical dressing although X-rays taken on Sunday revealed he had pellets from shotgun cartridges lodged in his body.

Mr Psaila pleaded not guilty to the Attard attempted theft and to holding Mr Mizzi and his son against their will.

He wore a full dark beard and his long hair was matted against his head, bearing no resemblance to the file photo issued by the police when they issued a public call for information about his whereabouts.

In the file photo, Mr Psaila’s face looked quite broad and dark, giving the impression of a heavily built man, which did not match his lean physique.

No request for bail was made during the arraignment, which was over in a matter of minutes.

Members of Mr Psaila’s family were present in the courtroom, some watching anxiously behind dark sunglasses as others wiped tears from their eyes.

Faced with a total of 27 charges, Mr Psaila also pleaded not guilty to stealing a revolver from a police constable, holding him and another two people against their will during the attempted hold-up at the Qormi bank headquarters.

He was also charged with having a weapon without a licence, firing it in an inhabited area, stealing a number of cars and changing their licence plates.

Mr Psaila also pleaded not guilty to committing a crime within the operative period of a suspended sentence and while under a conditional discharge.

After almost a month on the run, Mr Psaila presented himself to the police headquarters in Floriana on Boxing Day at about 7 p.m. after being in negotiation with senior police officers, sources told The Times.

Mr Psaila’s name emerged in the testimony of Police Constable Mario Portelli during the compilation of evidence of former police inspector and lawyer David Gatt, who is charged with masterminding at least three hold-ups and advising criminals on a fourth.

PC Portelli said Mr Psaila was implicated in the alleged criminal gang of Dr Gatt, who considered him as “the general” in his criminal organisation. PC Portelli also revealed the police had been trying to bide time before the arrest of Dr Gatt in a bid to apprehend Mr Psaila. The constable was playing a double game with Dr Gatt, who, he said, asked him to seek medical help for Mr Psaila.

PC Portelli said he contacted his superiors to let them know the lawyer was harbouring the criminal. He was told to wait so Mr Psaila could be apprehended but Dr Gatt was arrested the following morning.

Mr Psaila faced charges of car theft and handling stolen goods in the past and was also jailed for four years by a Sicilian court for drug trafficking, after being arrested in Sicily following “the largest ever drug haul” in Catania.

Police Inspectors Anthony Portelli and Joseph Mercieca prosecuted.

Lawyers Manuel Mallia, Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima appeared for Mr Psaila.