Police arrested 59 men and confiscated an assortment of weaponry, in a special operation yesterday to try and cut down on gang violence following gang-related six stabbings and a murder over the weekend.
A statement issued by police said that the 59 men were arrested “for the collection of information”, and noted that 15 were under the age of 18.
Police investigated two guest houses suspected of being used by the gangs, and discovered narcotics, weapons and items such as gloves and masks inside.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that out of the arrested 59, 11 were released after questioning.
The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives yesterday issued a statement expressing concern over the rise in gang violence and called upon all the concerned authorities to take necessary measurements to curb the violence.
Last Thursday Maldives Customs officers discovered five 3-foot long swords inside a container unloaded from a cargo ship.
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What the .... kind of Human Rights Commission do we have? When the police arrest obvious drug dealers and openly corrupt politicians, they start calling for their release. When there is an incident of street violence, they start talking with concern again. Make up your mind Mr. Saleem. You have to be realistic with the situation in the Maldives. We are know that drugs and judges are controlled by the power brokers of the old regime. What did you think they were doing for the last 30 years?
By the way, I put my hat down for the police. You are the only possible agency to shape Maldives in the right direction and against diabolical difficulties you are still showing a brave face. Keep the good work going...
Yawns.... special operations ... yawns
Yawns... Maldivian Police is no better any than circus show, they’ll start a special operation every now and then it never ends, the killing goes on.. And the gangs regroup, what’s the real problem here? THE DRUGS and who is the HEAD of Drug in Maldives police? if police can catch the drug lords in this country there won't be any gangs without finance they won't survive, so i urge the HEAD of anti drug force to concentrate on his work so that we the public could sleep and the senior police officers could breath well
Might it be worthwhile to penalize the operators of guesthouses which are complicit, either willingly or through their lax security, in aiding and abetting criminals? Such penalties might come in the form of suspension of licenses or fines in amounts which might act as suitable deterrents.
The same should preferably apply to registered owners of private vehicles who, once again, either deliberately or otherwise, allow their vehicles to be used in criminal activities.
It is my opinion that if establishments implicated in crimes and vehicle owners who feign ignorance of the use to which their property is put are allowed to get scot-free it creates a culture of irresponsibility which is counterproductive to the aim of reducing the pervasive nature of gang-related crimes in the Maldives.
However there might be externalities and consequences to imposing fines/penalties that those in the legal/judicial/police proffessions may foresee. Regardless, it would also be preferable to initiate and maintain productive dialogue and cooperation among the PG's office and the MPS to ensure that both institutions do not antagonize each other's work. Husnu-Al-Suood has spoken quite comprehensively on this subject in an article titled "Uththama Fandiyaarakah Husnuhsuood".
Customs needs to make it public on who imported these swords. Being in the shipping business, everything is documented. If something is sent by LCL (lose cargo), then for each loose cargo, the customs will have the consignee details which is the recipient who the cargo belongs to in Maldives.
So if something like this is found and illegally brought into the country, the public has the right to know who brought it in and the shipper from the country of departure (of the cargo) should be notified of this so that they will blacklist and report this to the police from that country also. When customers send their items to send to Maldives through any shipper. If these items are inside a box, there is no way of the shipper of knowing if there is a sword inside that box or not.
That is why once someone is caught, that person or company should be asked to explain. If they cannot give a valid reason, their names should be made public. Going to court as we all know is of no use.
In regards to the HRCM. They are irrelevant in our society because they do nothing but talk rubbish. If we wanted to give death sentence to murderers, HRCM would cry like a baby and do more then they are doing now to demand justice for the criminal. But when it comes justice for the victim, they do not lobby as they do for the criminal. Hypocritical and worthless NGO.
One needs to wonder whether the cost, time, effort and risk is worth when the same stuff is readily available right here. It is a cheap trick to frame someone ..
@ Muad MZ
Totally agree.
There is no way these items cannot be traced to someone. The Police should make it public so that we know.
I agree with Hamza & Muad MZ
Having said so I honestly beleive police and customs equipped with latest technology is capable investigating professional. But sadly we dont see results. Probably its the failier of judicial system. I also note poor journalism as they lack follow ups on such news. They seem to be only interested on headline news and the news goes to their archives without any further reserch.
Correction
Having said so I honestly beleive police and customs equipped with latest technology is capable investigating professionaly.
@Hani
"Police lose weapons, release 59 suspected gang members."
And lead you to jail to fill the gap?
Thankyou police... we deeply respect and revere you for this...
police knows who and who are in the gangs but sad that they dont arrest them. i think the people of the maldives has to stand against and show them the consequences...together we can....