The disappearance of Martin Galea in Libya last week may be one of many kidnappings perpetrated by groups seeking ransom money.

A Libyan source, who asked to remain anonymous, said Mr Galea’s abduction was unlikely to have political connotations.

Mr Galea was abducted by unidentified kidnappers while being driven to work on the outskirts of Tripoli. His whereabouts or condition remain unknown.

On Friday Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Parliament he did not have any assurance that Mr Galea was still alive.

A former army captain, Mr Galea works as a health and safety officer with a gas and oil exploration company.

The source said Mr Galea’s kidnapping happened to the southwest of Tripoli in the area between the capital and Gharyan, which is inhabited by the Wershfana tribe.

No ransom has been demanded but the source said it was common for such requests to be made up to two weeks after the kidnapping.

“There have been numerous instances of kidnappings by unknown individuals with formal contact only being established one or two weeks later with a ransom request,” the source said.

Last week, the former director general of Afriquiya Airways was kidnapped and his family had no information on his whereabouts until two days ago when his wife received a phone call asking for two million dinars (€1.2 million).

While in Zmirli’s case there was some form of judicial process, there seems to be nothing of the sort for Galea

At the beginning of July three construction workers – an Italian, Macedonian and Bosnian – employed by an Italian company were kidnapped in the western town of Zuwarah.

Mr Galea’s case bears little resemblance to the arrest by Libyan anti-militia police of two airline officials, including a Maltese, that happened in December 2012.

Medavia managing director Abdulrazagh Zmirli, a Libyan with Maltese citizenship, and technical general manager Abdalla Dekna had been arrested and interrogated in the northwestern city of Zawija after they were seized in the VIP lounge of Tripoli airport minutes before boarding a Malta-bound plane.

They were released after two weeks when charges against them were dropped.

But the source insisted the Zmirli case was wholly different in nature.

The authorities knew who had arrested him and so contact could be established fairly quickly.

“While in Zmirli’s case there was some form of judicial process, there seems to be nothing of the sort for Galea and nothing or little is known of the kidnappers and their motive,” the source said.

He noted that establishing contact in situations like Galea’s was normally dependent on networking through friends.

It is understood that people with connections in Libya have been collaborating with the Maltese authorities in trying to tap connections in the country.

Kidnappings are the order of the day in many parts of Libya as groups take advantage of the breakdown in law and order that has characterised the post-Gaddafi era.

Tribal and regional militias that had fought alongside each other to overthrow Gaddafi in 2011 have vied for control of resources and influence as the central government remains weak.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

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