Over 150 migrants were evicted from apartment blocks in a police raid in Bubibba on Monday morning.
Immigration police and members of the Rapid Intervention Unit initially raided the former Paloma Hotel in Triq Il-Gifen, Bugibba at 6am, but the operation later expanded to cover other blocks of apartments in the area. The building is currently used as a Russian boarding school.
Police officers were seen checking immigration documents and asking the tenants for their residence permits. Many of them were taken away in police buses. Environmental Health officers were also seen inspecting the building, and later sealed it off.
As the hours progressed – the operation lasted till about noon – between 150 and 200 migrants were found to be residing in cramped conditions.
Police and members of the Rapid Intervention Unit did not allow residents back into their rooms, leaving many of them in the street without their possessions.
This newsroom is informed, however, that most of the tenants were allowed back into the building later on in the day after the authorities confirmed that they had valid documents. Others who did not were held at the police HQ in Floriana. A small number of tenants were found to be in possession of drugs and they were held for questioning.
Tenants living in the three interconnected blocks were paying between €200 and €300 a fortnight, The Malta Independent has learnt. Between 4 and 7 people lived in each room.
Those who were allowed to return were seen cleaning the place on Monday afternoon and an inspection by the health department was expected to be carried out later in the evening. Up to five skips were filled with discarded items.
The owner has been instructed to carry out a number of works, including to fix leaking pipes and repair some fridges. He was also instructed to do pest control, since the place was infested with cockroaches.
Unbelievably, one person tried to check-in to the building while the police operation was underway.
“Why are we being treated like this?”, asked one resident, “I have all of my documents and permits, but police come in and kick down by door whilst I am sleeping, but they do not question the landlord who takes our money.”
Residents on site told journalists that most of them lived in cramped conditions, sharing one room with five other migrants. Photos published by ONE News show the cramped and inhumane conditions these residents were living in. Officers remarked the the rooms were “not even fit for an animal to live in that dirt”.
During the operation, the police were accompanied by a Maltese man who tenants knew as the person who collects their rent. The man seemed calm and kept repeating “take me to court, take me to court if need be.” The Maltese man refused to give his name.
Police on the scene and a Planning Authority source said the raid had been sparked by reports of a rat infestation in the block.
As the morning progressed, more emotional and angry scenes followed, as one woman, who stated that she was a paying tenant was furious that police were refusing her to go into the building. “I am not a criminal, I want to speak to the rent collector, he took my money and told me it would be safe to live here. I want to speak to him.”
She said that she wanted to speak to the landlord and that he had lied to the tenants who pay him. “I want my money back, let me speak to him.” She began accusing him and continuously said she wanted to slap him.
The police at first stopped her from speaking to the man, yet after she continued to insist, they brought the man next to her. Once she began asking for her money back, the man began to explain to her that he did not have it. “I don’t keep your money, I give it to the Russian,” he could be heard telling the woman.
Many other residents began to speak to journalists on site, explaining that they were not allowed back into the block to collect their possessions. Two residents of the raided building showed journalists their documents and explained that they were legally allowed to work in Malta. “I have been living here for a number of months. I pay €600 for a room which I share with six other people”, one resident explained.
This was the second such police raid during the summer months. Last month police evicted migrants living in converted stables in Marsa. It was reported that around 100 people were living in inhumane conditions, with filthy mattresses and mouldy walls. In April, 50 migrants were evicted from a large house in Qormi. In 2018, 120 migrants were found living in converted cow stalls in a disused farm in Qormi.
Photos: Alenka Falzon
