An Italian national is to be extradited to face charges related to organised crime, the court decided on Saturday.

Alessi Diomiro, 33, a resident of Naxxar, was arrested in Malta in the wake of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Palermo court.

Mr Diomiro had allegedly managed to escape from an Italian police raid which led to the arrest of 30 people, including Benedetto Bacchi, who reportedly controlled a network of 700 betting shops across Italy.

The suspect was charged with criminal association related to the illegal collection of bets, of acting as a corporate representative in Malta of Mr Bacchi, and of holding administrative positions in the Maltese companies BL Man Limited and Dodoone Limited.

He had allegedly provided for the creation of remote accesses dealing with the management of quotas and the operation of the online gaming network.

The Italian remains under arrest pending extradition.