Tag: crime

Police appeal for public assistance in locating stabbing suspect

Police have appealed for public assistance in locating a person identified as Sharufan Abdul Razzaq Ahmed, 19 of Lonumidhilige [house] in Maafannu Ward.

On May 27 police issued a statement informing the public they were seeking to question Razzaq regarding a recent stabbing, but had been unable to locate or determine his whereabouts.

Police alleged that on May 18 at 3:25 pm  Razzaq together with some other persons stabbed two people near the junction where Chanbeyly Magu meets Haveeree Hingun.

Police said Razzaq was needed for the police investigation into the case, and stated that any person who disclosed information about his whereabouts would receive protection as required by law.

Local media has reported that the 18 and 21 year-old victims were hospitalised following the attack.

The 18 year-old received injuries to his chest, back and other parts of the body while he 21 year-old suffered injuries to his back.

The media reports say that Razzaq has a previous criminal record, after he allegedly entered Nalahiya Manzil House in Henveiru Ward in 2010 January with a companion and stabbed a person inside the house.

That case is now in Prosecutor General’s Office waiting to be forwarded to the court for trial.

Progess of special task force

Police have also said that the police special task force established to curb gang related crimes occurring in Male’ had arrested seven people.

Police said four were persons police were looking for in connection with a recent stabbing incident.

In a statement issued to update information about the special operation, police said they had searched areas related to gang activities 960 times, and stopped and searched 290 persons.

Police also established vehicle check points in different areas of Male’ and searched 651 vehicles. 29 licenses were held for traffic violations.

Police said they would continue to stop and search people out late at night, or on the streets in the early hours of the morning.

Police recently arrested 11 persons for alleged involvement in a stabbing attack at the ‘Home X’ store in the capital on May 19, that hospitalised one male victim.

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz  told local media that members of the taskforce were now searching for 50 “high-profile” suspects alleged to have had involvement with gang-related activities.

“They are a threat to the society. We consider everyone who has not been punished for a crime they have  committed as a criminal at large,” he was quoted by local newspaper Haveeru as saying.

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Eleven suspects detained over Male’ store attack as police continue gang hunt

Police have said 11 suspects have been taken into custody for alleged involvement in a stabbing attack at the ‘Home X’ store in the capital on May 19 that hospitalised one male victim – with authorities pledging to continue a crack down on gang activity.

In a statement released today, police claimed that the 11 individuals, all male suspects between 17 and 27 years of age, were detained on the 9th floor of the Aroodhaage building in Male’ as part of investigations into the store assault.

“Out of the 11 individuals brought in, there were two 19 year old males, one 27 year old male, one 20 year old male, one 21 year old male, four 18 year old males and two 17 year old males,” police stated following the operation.

Local media reported at the time that the victim of the attack had fled into an electronics store in Male’ in order to shelter from a group that proceeded to assault him using a “sharp object”.

The store attack was among a series of stabbings reported across the capital this month –  prompting police to form a special task force designed to try and combat gang violence.

The now-active task force consists of members from the Forensics Directorate, Intelligence and Covert Policing Command, Information and Communication Directorate, Central Operations Command and Technical Police from the Divisional Operations Command of the Maldives Police Service.

“Criminal at large”

Speaking to local media today, Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz said members of the taskforce were now searching for 50 “high-profile” suspects alleged to have had involvement with gang-related activities

“They are a threat to the society. We consider everyone, who had not been punished for a crime they had committed, as a criminal at large,” he was quoted by local newspaper Haveeru as saying.

Riyaz was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press regarding how the 50 suspects had been identified or if they belonged to specific groups.  The police media department was also not responding to calls at time of press.

Riya’s comments were made less than a week after he alleged politicians were most often responsible for encouraging gang-related activities in the capital island Male’.

The claims echoed the findings of a report into the country’s gang culture published last year by the Asia Foundation that found politicians and businessmen paid gangs to assault rivals, damage property, and in some cases have opponents killed.

Clear approach

Speaking to Minivan News earlier this month, former head of police intelligence Chief Superintendent Mohamed ‘MC’ Hameed claimed the stabbing incidents were “probably” retaliatory and inter-related based on media reports at the time.

Hameed also raised accused the country’s police service of presently lacking a clear approach in terms of reducing and dealing with violence crimes and criminals.

“Not being able to police Male’ – the most populated city in the country – due to the lack of an effective strategy and the disconnect between the key areas of criminal investigations, intelligence gathering, and front line policing is a big issue,” he added.

In addition to the lack of a “very effective policing approach” to combat violent crime, low level crimes had also not been addressed, according to Hameed.

“A lot of antisocial behavior goes unnoticed and unaddressed by the police, such as harassment and public nuisance. For example, girls of a very young age are harassed, even while walking with their families. Additionally, juveniles are seen under the influence of drugs and intoxicated in public,” he explained.

Hameed advocated that a strong, more integrated, holistic approach is needed that applies a broader strategy to effectively reduce crime.

“Increasing police officers physical presence, as well as effective targeting of high profile offenders and hotspots needs to be addressed,” he said.

“Collaboration between criminal investigations, intelligence gathering, and front line policing are three areas that have never worked that effectively,” he added at the time.

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Four arrested in connection with gang rape of 20 year-old girl on Dhuvaafaru

Police have arrested three 17 year-old males and a 19 year-old man in connection with the gang rape and filming of a 20 year-old girl on the island of Dhuvaafaru in Raa Atoll.

Police would not provide further information on the matter, but said the case was now under investigation.

A member of the Dhuvaafaru Island Council told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the incident occurred three days ago.

“They went out to drive a motorbike around the island and they stopped near the beach in the industrial zone of the island near the power house,’’ he said. “The case was not reported to the council but was reported directly to police, we only heard of it the next day.”

The councillor insisted to Minivan News that media reports of the incident were inaccurate.

“The four boys always hang out with this girl and she is not very well disciplined; it is very unlikely that anyone would have to rape her, it would be easier than that,’’ he claimed. “I think the girl reported it to police as a gang rape because they filmed the incident.”

‘’It’s very sad, I think the boys will be scared and worried, because they are not that type of guys,’’ he added.

The councillor said the detention period of the four suspects was extended to 15 days. All were from Dhuvaafaru, he said, and were being held in a detention centre on Ungoofaaru island.

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Police launch investigation into social media sex scandal ring

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said police have received reports that people are being solicited for cybersex over social media and blackmailed with compromising pictures and videos.

Commissioner Riyaz confirmed the investigation to local newspaper Haveeru but declined to provide details. A police media official likewise declined to provide any information beyond confirming the investigation was underway, or whether any arrests had been made.

Police investigated a similar case in February 2011, leading to the arrest of 14 people. Police concluded the investigation and sent it to the Prosecutor General’s Office, but the case was never sent to court.

At the time, police revealed the 14 individuals, including a minor, had been arrested on suspicion of obtaining hundreds of nude pictures and videos stored on computers and external hard drives.  It was alleged that these images had been obtained through inviting Maldivians to befriend fake Facebook profiles with the image of a young blond woman, and soliciting them for cybersex.

Police said at the time that two profiles with the names of ‘Lyshiaa Limanom’ and ‘Angelic Sharrown’ were used by the suspects to gather compromising pictures and videos of victims performing explicit acts, in some cases in the presence of minors. Investigators stated that they would also be investigating these people people for committing crimes.

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All murder cases filed last year investigated and sent to PG, claim police

Police Head of Serious and Organised Crime Mohamed Chief Inspector Dhaud has announced that police have concluded investigations into all murder cases filed last year and  forwarded the cases to the Prosecutor General’s office.

In a video interview on the police website Dhaudh said many people were murdered last year, and that police had been able to determine the suspects in these cases. Some cases were in court while other trials had been concluded.

He expressed concern that although some cases were thoroughly investigated and sent to the courts, the cases were interrupted when witnesses were influenced and changed their statements.

Dhaud said police were giving high priority to identifying people intimidating witnesses and prosecuting them.

He also said that police took murder cases very seriously would use all available resources to investigate these cases.

In the video, Dhaud highlights some of the deaths that occurred last year and the suspects who were charged in the cases.

The video interview comes the day before the ‘National Movement’ coalition of NGOs and the Adhaalath Party have declared they will hold a protest on behalf of murder victims because ‘’murder victims have been deprived from their right to have justice.’’

On April 24, speaking to local media at Nalahiya Hotel in Male’, Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla said the main purpose of the gathering was to call for justice for murder victims and encourage the authorities to ensure that “such inhumane acts” were not repeated in the future.

Imran also suggested that murders were being ignored, criticising media for forgetting cases after covering them for 10 days or even a month.

He also referred to the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in October 2012, noting that neither the ongoing trial nor the investigation of his murder had been concluded.

State Home Minister Abdulla Mohamed, spokesperson of the ‘National Movement’, said at the time that 13 Maldivians were reported murdered last year.  He added that compensation for these deaths was also not being received by relatives of the victims.

He called on everyone against murder to participate in the event.

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Police return MVR 6 million confiscated from accused drug lord

Police have returned MVR 6 million (US$461,500) confiscated from suspected drug lord, Adam Naseem of H. Reendhooge, according to local media.

Naseem was accused by the Nasheed government in 2009 of being one of the country’s top six drug lords. He was arrested in mid-2009 and the police investigation lasted nearly a year.

Police searched Naseer’s home in Addu Atoll on June 30, 2009, where they found over MVR 6 million (US$461,500) in cash and a tin containing drugs outside his house.

However, the Criminal Court acquitted Naseer on the grounds that the state had not been able to convince the court that the money found inside his house was earned through drug trafficking, or that the tin belonged to him.

The state appealed the case at the High Court, which upheld the lower court’s not guilty verdict.

In May 2010, Naseem sued police seeking the return of the money.

Naseem reportedly told local newspaper Haveeru that police had not yet returned the registration of his motorbike and car, or cheques he claimed were worth a further MVR 6 million.

In June 2011, a report compiled by the presidential commission following an inquiry into Naseer’s controversial acquittal was leaked online.

The findings of the report suggested that shortcomings in the police investigation and weak evidence were responsible for the failure to convict one of the “top six drug lords” identified by police.

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Police seek public assistance to locate Godzine Sargsyan

Police have issued a statement asking for public assistance in locating one of the Artur brothers, Godzine Sargsyan.

Police said Godzine was a French national who came to the Maldives under the passport number 10CZ05238.

Police requested anyone with any information about Godzine Sargsyan to contact the police Serious and Organised Crime Department’s hotline 991 1099 or the police main line, 332 2111.

The statement did not reveal why Sargsyan was being sought. Police said they would provide security for people providing information to them.

Earlier this month, pictures of Artur brothers with the Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb and Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim emerged in the social media.

However, the ministers denied involvement with the infamous brothers, linked with drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.

Photos of the Arturs in the company of the two Maldivian ministers emerged on social media, apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.

A letter from the Tourism Ministry to immigration authorities requesting a residency visa for Margaryan and Sargayan Artur, dated January 27 and signed by Adheeb, was subsequently leaked on social media.

A company named ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’ was registered in the Maldives in October 2012, with the Artur brothers holding an 80 percent share in a 61-19 percent split.

French nationals identified as Godzine Sargsyan and Edga Sargsyan had a 10 and 7 percent share, while a Maldivian national Ismail Waseem of H. Ever Chance was listed as holding the remaining 3 percent.

Waseem’s share was subsequently transferred to Abdulla Shaffath of H. Ever Peace on November 25.

Meanwhile, on April 8, reports in local media suggested that Zaidul Khaleel, General Manager of the Club Faru resort, operated by the state-owned Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), had been dismissed after he was found to have paid the brothers’ US$6000 bill.

Immigration Controller Mohamed Ali previously told local media that while Sargasyan Artur had left the Maldives on March 31, given issues with the country’s border control system “there are questions surrounding the second brothers’ exit from the Maldives.”

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Trial begins of second suspect arrested over murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali

The Criminal Court today commenced the first hearing in the trail of Ahmed Shan, the second suspect to be arrested in connection with the murder of moderate religious scholar and MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

State prosecutors confirmed that the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) was pressing murder charges against Shan.

Shan is accused of entering the Funvilu house in Galolhu ward between 11:00pm on October 1 and 2:00am the following day with a group of people to murder Dr Afrasheem.

In response, Shan said the charges were clear to him and told the court that he wished to secure legal counsel.

However, the defendant told the court today that he was not aware of the evidence against him.

The presiding judge replied that the court would grant permission to produce the evidence and witnesses after Shan responded to the charges against him.

Evidence to support the prosecution would then be issued to Shan, with the exception of certain confidential documents submitted to the court by the state, the judge said.

The next hearing of the case is scheduled for May 5, 2013.

The trial of Shan’s co-accused Hussain Humam is also presently being heard in the Criminal Court, with the suspect having previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder.  The suspect has also requested legal council.

A Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) representative and Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid – son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik – were also detained by police over having alleged involvement in the case.

Both were later released by the courts.

Javid had spent 45 days in detention in connection to the Afrasheem murder, which at the time his lawyer argued was unconstitutional given there was no evidence to support keeping him in custody.

In December last year, the MDP accused the police of attempting to pin Afrasheem’s murder on its members, instead of going after those guilty of the crime.

MP Afrasheem was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, by the staircase of his home.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has previously alleged the murder of the MP was well planned and worth MVR 4 million (US$260,000).

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Artur brothers “direct threat to national security”: MP Fahmy

Parliament passed an extraordinary motion today (April 2) expressing concern that cabinet ministers’ connections to the Artur brothers posed a “direct threat to national security”.

Police meanwhile revealed they became aware of the Artur brothers presence in the Maldives in January, and launched an investigation to determine if they had been conducting any illegal activities in the country.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News police had contacted “relevant government authorities” in January to inform them of the Artur brothers’ links to drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets, dealings with senior government officials and other serious crimes in Kenya.

He was reluctant to share any further details given that “this is still an open case under investigation”.

Minivan News understands that relevant authorities, including the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), Ministry of Home Affairs, and the President’s Office were officially informed in January of the presence of the Artur brothers, even as Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb signed a letter seeking residency permits for the pair.

Immigration Controller Mohamed Ali told local media that Artur Sargasyan left the Maldives on Sunday (March 31). Sargasyan first entered the Maldives on a tourist visa in August 2012 and returned again in October, Ali said. Sargasyan’s associate is still in the Maldives at a resort in Male’ Atoll, Ali told local media.

Photos of the Arturs in the company of Adheeb and Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim emerged on social media over the weekend, apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.

One photo showed Artur Sargsyan next to Adheeb and Nazim, while another has him apparently starting one of the motorcycle races at the event, which was organised by the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF). Another image showed Sargsyan at the red carpet opening for the Olympus Cinema.

Meanwhile the Artur’s US$6000 bill at the Club Faru resort – recently taken over by the government-owned Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) – was paid by a ”top official of the resort management”, according to Haveeru.

Picking up the story today, Kenyan media reported that the brothers’ practice of publicly ingratiating themselves with senior government officials appeared not to have changed.

“The Arturs’ mode of operation where they show up in the company of top and well-connected government leaders appears to have been replicated in the Maldives. Their presence in the Maldives comes days after ousted leader Mohammed Nasheed expressed fear over his life,” reported Kenya’s Daily Nation publication.

Parliament concerned about connections with cabinet ministers

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy submitted the motion to parliament to raise concerns about the Artur brothers’ presence in the country and their possible connections with Nazim and Adheeb.

“The Artur brothers are a direct threat to national security since they are – true to their old style and from the experiences of other countries – directly linked to the top government officials including Mr Mohamed Nazim who is both the Defense Minister and the acting Transport Minister, as well as Mr Ahmed Adheeb who is the Tourism Minister,” Fahmy told Minivan News.

“These are the most crucial government ministries with which the Artur brothers are looking to have special links to achieve their objectives,” he contended.

Fahmy said the Artur brothers were believed to have carried out “all sorts of serious illegal activities internationally” and that the Maldives “is incapable of handling these notorious conmen from Armenia. They are capable of taking local criminal gangs to different heights.”

Fahmy explained that immigration laws do not permit entry into the Maldives if the visitor is “even suspected” of being involved in human smuggling or trafficking; may be [considered] a national threat, or otherwise may commit crimes against the state.”

“Given all these facts – and that the Artur brothers are  world-infamous for carrying out criminal activities of this sort – they were allowed into the country and seen publicly with top government officials,” Fahmy added, alleging that the pair have three meetings with Adheeb and Nazim on Hulhumale’ and on Club Faru.

National security concerns politicised

While the extraordinary motion passed with 27 votes in favour to 10 against,  most MPs from non-MDP parties “were not in favor of this serious issue”, Fahmy claimed.

The Parliamentary Committee on National Security will “seriously look into the matter”, however because it is not an MDP-majority committee, Fahmy believes said it would not be easy for the opposition to hold Nazim and Adheeb accountable.

“You could see how much the Artur brothers have penetrated into the parliament from the number of no votes for this motion today,” he claimed.

During today’s parliamentary debate the MDP was accused of being connected with the Artur brothers by MPs, who claimed the Maldivian shareholder in a company registered by the brothers was affiliated with the party.

Ismail Waseem of H. Ever Chance was listed as holding a 3 percent share in ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’, registered in the Maldives in October 2012.

Waseem’s share was subsequently transferred to Abdulla Shaffath of H. Ever Peace on November 25.

“No member holding a position in the party has anything to do with the Artur brothers,” Fahmy claimed. “Instead President Dr Waheed Hassan Manik, or his top government officials, are known to have been directly involved with them. It is this coup-government that has brought those conmen into this country,” Fahmy said.

Today’s parliamentary session was prolonged for an additional hour due to the extraordinary motion submitted.

Denials

Defense Minister Nazim and Tourism Minister Adheeb have meanwhile denied any involvement with infamous pair of Armenian brothers.

“I came to know about them after the rumours started spreading on social media networks. But no country had informed of us anything officially,” local media reported Nazim as saying.

“To my knowledge those two men have left the Maldives,” he said.

Adheeb acknowledged meeting the brothers during the Piston Cup event, but bemoaned to Haveeru how “information about this issue is being spread by the media rather negatively. I have no links with them.”

Speaking to Minivan News, Adheeb reiterated that he had no personal links with the Artur brothers, whom he said had now left the country on his recommendation.

According to Adheeb, the Artur brothers had previously invested in the country through a registered joint venture company with members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Adheeb said he “advised them to leave peacefully and they agreed to sort out their visa and leave. They have now left.”

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