A man who was convicted of importing explosives and trying to buy lethal poisons over the darkweb is missing.

The Times reports that Jomic Calleja Maatouk, 36, failed to sign a bail book for a number of days and is now considered a wanted man.

His partner has also been reported missing, with family members telling authorities they have not heard from her in several days, The Times reports.

It is suspected that the two have fled the country.

Calleja Maatouk was jailed for five years in prison in July after a magistrate concluded that he was guilty of importing explosives, document forgery, using that forged document, breaching previous bail conditions and relapsing.

A court heard evidence of how Calleja Maatouk had tried to buy lethal doses of radioactive material Polonium-210, highly toxic poison Ricin, killer drug Fentanyl and C-4 explosive off a darkweb marketplace. 

In her judgment, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech had described Calleja Maatouk as “a lethal weapon” who was ready to open “the gates of hell upon whoever he deemed an inconvenience to be eliminated.”

But he was allowed out of custody after being convicted. According to Maltese law, people who are found guilty of a crime and sentenced to prison time by a magistrate’s court are allowed out of custody if they appeal that decision, pending the final outcome of those proceedings.