The type of explosive used to kill journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia back on 16 October was TNT and not Semtex, sources close to the investigation said.
Multiple media reports had suggested that Semtex was used in the Bidnija car-bombing, but this turns out to be wrong. Some reports also went on to link the case with fuel smuggling between Libya and Italy, but this is only one part of the investigation.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered on 16 October, just down the road from her Bidnija home. Following investigations which involved FBI and Europol support, the police conducted a number of raids on Monday, arresting 10 people, three of whom were charged with her murder last night.
Sources close to the investigation also said that, most probably, the person who triggered the bomb was not on site, adding that there could have been an accomplice serving as a 'spotter'. It is also possible that the TNT used in the explosives was produced locally, the sources added. Further investigations will be able to confirm or deny this claim.
The same sources also claimed that the police have 'a very strong case' against the people charged with the murder.
The authorities managed to locate the suspects in the case through 'electronic communication', the sources said. This data was provided thanks to the equipment provided by the FBI. Besides the data from phone calls and text messages relating to the case, the police were also able to retrieve 'tangible evidence' on site in Marsa, where the police and AFM raids took place.
Sources close to the investigation said that suspects could have been located through phone calls between suspects and triangulation data which helps pinpoint location of suspects.
The raids in Marsa started at around 4am on Monday morning. At first, the police apprehended four individuals from a spot in Marsa. Sources confirmed that brothers Alfred and George Degorgio were among the first four arrested in the raid.
"At this stage, what we can say is that the police have a very strong case," the sources said.