Around a kilo of “explosive powder” was yesterday discovered in a garage beneath a popular Gozitan nightclub and theatre complex.
The combustible powder, believed to be a mix of sulphates, was found by police in a garage-turned workshop owned by the La Stella Philharmonic Society on Friday night. The garage is located directly beneath the popular clubbing destination Ku Club and the Astra Theatre, which often hosts community performances and operas in Victoria.
Two men, cousins and fireworks aficionados, were arrested after police received a tip that explosives, meant to be used in firework preparation, were being stored in a garage in a residential area.
The garage is located in a bustling part of the Gozitan capital on Giuseppe Giardini Street, just a few paces from popular toy shop, Kidzland.
Paul Cassar, the president of the La Stella band club, insisted that no fireworks were being produced in the garage and that the two men who had been arrested were simply storing powder there.
He said the two used the garage to prepare the outer casings for fireworks, which they would then fill in a licensed fireworks factory in Malta.
Asked how long the sulphates had been there, Mr Cassar said “who knows, it could have been a month, it could have been a year”.
When contacted yesterday, one of the nearby nightclub owners who rents the disco from the La Stella band club, declined to comment saying he knew nothing about the incident. The Astra theatre had to be refurbished in 2005 after a devastating fire two years earlier that was sparked by a short circuit.
Joe Theuma, the former secretary of the Malta Pyrotechnics Association and veteran fireworks enthusiast, said the storage of fireworks was limited to specific conditions and was not permissible if over the limit or in densely populated areas.
He said the amount discovered was double the half a kilo limit permissible in residential areas. Asked what damage such amounts could cause, Mr Theuma said it depended on the type of mixture being stored and the conditions.
A magisterial inquiry is under way and if found guilty, the two men could face up to two years in prison or as much as a €50,000 fine.
It would not be the first time someone has been sentenced for storing explosives in a residential area. Mark Agius, 45, is appealing a two-year jail term he was given in the aftermath of the 2008 explosion in Ħal Dgħejf Street, Naxxar, which killed Paul Camilleri, 47, and Sina Sammut, 35.
Just last week, eight committee members of the Naxxar Peace Band Club were cleared of storing explosives in the club in 2008. The club is located in the centre of the village.