The police have not made any headway in their investigations into the abduction of a 63-year-old businessman in Ħal Far and the subsequent theft from his house in Sta Luċija.

Police sources said nobody witnessed the abduction in the streets of Ħal Far as Joseph Portelli drove his car through the dark roads.

The police are still looking for at least two thieves who abducted Mr Portelli in his own car and bound him, before driving to his house in Sta Luċija where they stole some items and a small amount of cash.

Sources said Mr Portelli, a property developer, was still under shock and could not furnish the police with precise information. The police are on the lookout for the getaway car the thieves, who were hooded, used to flee the scene.

It is unclear whether the assailants, who injured Mr Portelli, were Maltese or foreign. Magistrate Neville Camilleri appointed court experts to assist him with the inquiry.

Police from the Ħal Far and Sta Luċija districts and from the Criminal Investigations Department are investigating.