Three Maltese nationals caught with drugs in Tunisia last year were monitored by the Maltese Security Service prior to their arrest.
In its annual report for 2010 the security committee said cooperation between the Security Service and their Tunisian counterparts led to the arrest of three Maltese nationals in two separate operations.
The two drug busts led to the seizure of 116 kilograms of cannabis resin by the Tunisian police.
The report does not name the people involved in the cases but in January last year Tano Farrugia, 32, was arrested in Tunisia on suspicion of trying to export 50 kg of cannabis, while in a separate case Thomas Camilleri and Glenn Paul Xuereb, both 22, were caught attempting to smuggle almost 70 kg of cannabis to Malta.
Mr Camilleri and Mr Xuereb escaped from a Tunisian jail earlier this year when mayhem broke out in the country. They were arrested in Malta after they crossed the border to Libya and made it back on one of the evacuation flights.
The report gives a brief non-detailed overview of the Security Service’s work last year but even though it is dated February 2011, it was only laid on the table of the House by the Prime Minister on Monday.
No reference is made to the Arab spring uprisings which in December last year had only just started when Tunisian Mohammed Bouazizi set fire to himself, sparking widespread protests that led to the overthrow of Tunisian dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali a few weeks later.
The report notes positively that a recommendation made on numerous occasions by the Security Service to have a common database of people asking for asylum in Malta was taken up by the authorities.
It lists Al Qaeda as the biggest threat to Europe and the Mediterranean, describing the militant Islamist organisation as “a franchise” that wants world domination by “caliphates”.
The report says the Security Service conducted a number of inspections on key properties including Dar Malta in Brussels that houses Malta’s EU Permanent Representation.
The Service received 233 requests for security clearances including employees of ministries’ secretariats, workers to be engaged by the government’s IT agency, passport office and public registry employees.
It also processed security clearances for persons allowed access to classified EU and Nato information as part of Malta’s partnership for peace participation.
The report says the service was particularly active during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit when it introduced “visual surveillance” while the Pontiff visited various locations.