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Yorgen Fenech Was Busted With Cocaine In USA And Named Keith Schembri As His Next Of Kin

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Yorgen Fenech named former Prime Minister’s disgraced chief of staff Keith Schembri as his next of kin when he was busted for cocaine possession in the USA.

A freedom of information request from the Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation revealed that US customs detained Fenech while he was at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on July 15, 2019. Fenech was arrested over the murder in November 2019, he emerged major suspect in the crime to police in 2018.

He was arrested with 8.43 grams of cocaine inside his suitcase, which he admitted to have purchased in London before travel. Police were alerted after a passenger spotted Fenech snorting cocaine in the airline toilet.

In the document, Schembri, who is listed as Fenech’s friend, is named as his next of kin on the police report.

On 29th July, he was sentenced to serve 30 days in Harris County Jail. He was later committed to Sierra Tuscon Hospital, a treatment centre for drug and alcohol addiction.

Fenech alleged high use of cocaine has been slightly referenced in court sittings.

Doctor-turned-messenger Adrian Vella told the court that Fenech and his brother were “high” planning a “legal” getaway involving private jets and even a fishing boat from Malta a week before his eventual arrest.

Schembri, along with former OPM official Kenneth Camilleri, remain under investigation over their links to the murder. Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has been interrogated under caution.

Around 800 WhatsApp messages are set to be presented to court in October, including a shared chat he held with Fenech and Muscat.

Fenech has claimed that Schembri was the actual mastermind of the plot, while Muscat was one of three people who knew of the plan after the fact.

Schembri has hung over the case like a shroud with Fenech long claiming he would leak information on the case. Recently Vella confirmed that he passed on documents between Fenech and Schembri while the latter was under police bail for the murder.

The letters reportedly deal with an alleged frame-up attempt of Chris Cardona, which have been published by Lovin Malta. Vella said he recognised Fenech’s handwriting on the documents, but could not confirm with absolute certainty whether these were the documents he was handed.

Schembri has confirmed meeting Vella during the period messages were exchanged, but insists he didn’t write, send or deliver the note in question. However, Vella has told the court that Schembri was lying under oath.

Vella has also confirmed to the courts that he called Schembri when police that were ready to arrest him were waiting for 15 minutes outside his home. He told the courts that during this period he deleted entire WhatsApp conversations.

Schembri was first arrested in connection with the crime in November 2019. However, he was released without charge and is not currently under police bail.

What do you think of the revelation? Comment below

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Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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