Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia has refused to answer questions by a PN MP on the type of ammunition used by the police and the weapons currently found in the Armed Forces of Malta’s arsenal, saying that the information is “confidential, sensitive and affects national security.”

PN MP Karol Aquilina asked the minister to state what type of ammunition the police used, the date of acquisition and the state or entity that had sold them.

In another PQ he asked the minister to state how many weapons the army has for use by its members, what type of weapons they have, the year in which they were acquired and the state or entity that had been acquired from.

He also asked about the ammunition used by the AFM.

The minister’s reply was standard for all three PQs.

Under the current administration both the police force and the army have seen modernization of equipment and weapons. Over the past few years the police’s Rapid Intervention Unit has acquired new assault rifles and submachine guns while the AFM’s Special Operations Unit has also recently fielded brand new assault rifles, as seen in the Marsa raid that bagged the three main suspects in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. (main photo)

The rest of the army, however, still uses outdated equipment that was either left over from the British or donated from China and North Korea.

The minister was also asked to state the number of roadblocks that had been carried out by the police since 2013 and to state how man had found abuses.

Farrugia said the requested information is not held in ‘computerized form’ and to answer the question would require a disproportionate amount of time and resources by the police. He simply said that district and RIU police carry out regular patrols and, when needed,road blocks in various parts of the country.

He also said that since 2013 the Armed Forces of Malta have not set up any roadblocks. Such a thing would only take place at the request of the police, the minister said.