Four police and two army officers along with two Bangladeshi nationals were taken into custody last week in connection with the robbery of a group of expatriate workers on June 8.
According to a statement by police on Thursday, the arrests were made in a special operation conducted jointly by police and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) after reports of expatriate workers being “intimidated and robbed at their residences by a large group.”
“During the investigation after the suspects were taken into custody, the men confessed to police interrogators of having robbed a large amount of cash and expensive items from foreigners on a number of different occasions,” the police statement revealed.
The statement added that the case was accorded “a very high priority” due to the involvement of sworn police officers, assuring that action would be taken under the Police Act against those found guilty of committing crimes in uniform.
Police are meanwhile searching for one more suspect in connection with the robberies.
Local daily Haveeru reported that the group of police and army officers robbed expatriates from a residence near the State Bank of India at 5.30am on June 8.
The newspaper claimed that the suspects in custody included a member of the police investigative team and a Special Operations (S.O) officer.
A police officer was sentenced to nine months imprisonment previously after being found guilty of robbing expatriates in uniform. Meanwhile in September 2011, three MNDF officers were arrested on charges of entering an expatriate residence in uniform and robbing a group of Bangladeshi workers with threats of violence.
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