Police investigations are honing in on a case of bribery involving public officials and the issuance of fishing-related licences, Times of Malta has learnt.

Sources said the case came to light after an internal audit at the fisheries department flagged suspicious activity and the information was passed on to the police.

It is not known what amounts are involved but sources said they were nowhere near the €1 million theft of fake cigarettes from the Freeport by three men.

A stevedore, a customs official and a security guard were on Sunday charged by the police with stealing a container that had been impounded at the Birżebbuġa port. The two public officials were also accused of committing a crime they were duty bound to prevent.

An internal audit at the fisheries department flagged suspicious activity

During a press conference just before the three men were arraigned, Economy Minister Chris Cardona said another two cases of corrupt public officials will come to the fore in the coming days.

He did not elaborate and when asked about the prospective corruption cases, a government spokesman said investigations were under way.

“Further announcements will be made in due course,” the spokesman said.

However, it is believed that the fishing licence case is one of two mentioned by Dr Cardona. The latest developments come on the back of another corruption scandal involving tampered smart meters.

Three Enemalta officials have so far been charged with corruption – one of them admitted the charges and was jailed for two years.

The corporation had suspended another five men allegedly involved in the scam in which householders and businesses paid €1,200 to have their smart meter tampered.

Investigations showed that of every 100 units consumed, the tampered meters only registered 20, leading to millions of euros in lost revenue for the­­­ energy company.