The Police Force has denied that an inspector who was involved in investigations which include that of a man who sent threatening letters to political figures was ‘demoted’, saying that the officer in question had already been stationed to a district.

The statement was issued in reaction to a story carried in Times of Malta, which said that Inspector Kevin Pulis had been ‘demoted’ to basic duties at a different police station having previously formed part of the police’s anti-organised crime task force.

The report states that Pulis was investigating drug trafficking operations and that his work also touched upon the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, with Pulis being the officer to formally place Yorgen Fenech under arrest in connection with her murder.

The report quotes sources saying that Pulis may have been the target of a scrapped assassination plot, and that his charging of a man who allegedly mailed threatening letters to public figures was deemed to be insubordination against his superiors.

Repubblika President Robert Aquilina, who was one of those who received said letters, said in reaction to the story that this was a clear case of retaliation against an officer who had done his job in taking effective steps against the man who had threatened him and others.

The Police however denied that Pulis had been demoted, and criticised the report for making the suggestion that working at a district level was in some way basic.

The Police Force said that Inspector Kevin Pulis had been serving in the Qormi police station since 1 September 2020, and not recently as they said that article and some social media posts imply.

On 24 November 2021, Pulis as Inspector of the district of Qormi together with Inspector Kurt Farrugia from the Valletta district charged a man who sent anonymous letters and threatened and/or harassed a number of politicians and public persons.

On 1 January this year, when the confines of the police districts changed, the police said that with agreement from all parties, Pulis was moved to the Valletta district and Farrugia was moved to the Zabbar district.

The police said that the role of inspector is a purely investigative one and that it is “totally mistaken” for one to say that inspectors who have a role in a particular district have been demoted in any way or that they are doing a role which is considered to be basic, as the article states.

The police force said that it unreservedly condemns comments which show a lack of respect to police officials who work at district levels.