Updated 7.45pm - Added Government reaction

Criminal organisations are operating in Malta using sophisticated means which are leaving victims in their wake, the Nationalist Party this afternoon. 

Faced with this threat, the government has the duty to react "seriously" to put a stop to such crimes.

The statement, signed by Opposition deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, comes two days after a 68-year-old businessman was killed by a car bomb in Buġibba.

Such incidents were raising security concerns among many families who fear they might be caught up in the crossfire of organised crime. 

"Faced with this reality, the government should react with determination to catch the perpetrators of these serious crimes and bring them to justice," Dr Fenech Adami said. 

The government should put people's minds to rest that all investigations are being carried out and that resources are fully dedicated to solve these crimes. 

"The Maltese people have a right to put their minds at rest and the government has the duty to put this issue as a national priority because innocent lives may be in danger," Dr Fenech Adami said.

Malta has seen three car bombings this year, leaving two victims in their wake. None of the cases have been resolved. 

'Needless scaremongering' - Home Affairs ministry

In a reaction, the Home Affairs ministry criticised the PN for politicising a non-partisan issue, and said the Opposition was showing a lack of faith in the police corp's capabilities. 

"Maltese citizens should set their mind at ease," the ministry said. "The police corp is doing its utmost in these investigations." 

While saying that it was not a politician's job to alarm people, the ministry noted that there had been a series of "mafia-style" crimes committed during the previous administration's tenure, when Beppe Fenech Adami was a parliamentary assistant in the Home Affairs ministry. These crimes remained unresolved, the ministry added. 

"It is a shame that the Opposition is basing its politics on fear and panic, and turning something that has nothing to do with politics into a partisan issue," the statement concluded.