Over US$40,000 (MVR616, 800) was stolen during a break-in at the offices of Ocean Travels, at the State Trading Organisation trade centre on Thursday night (March 19).
The robbery was reported on Friday night. No arrests have been made yet, the police said.
“They found out their safe was broken into when they opened the office,” said police.
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(0)More than MVR100,000 (US$6,485) in cash has been stolen from a safe in the Ooredoo office in Majeedhee Magu, the main thoroughfare of the capital Malé.
According to the police, the theft was reported at 8:25am this morning. No arrests have been made yet.
Earlier this month, police launched a special operation in response to a spike in cases of theft and robbery in the capital.
(0)Dislikes(0)Maldives Police Services have announced that they have recovered part of MVR 50,000 stolen from an individual’s safe in the island of Madifushi in Thaa Atoll.
According to police, the underage daughter of the safe’s owner stole the money and gave it to her partner.
Police have arrested two Maldivian men aged 18 and 22. The 22 year old is reported to have a previous record of robbery and drug abuse. The men were arrested from a boat that arrived in Malé on Wednesday morning (June 18).
Police said they discovered MVR 27,000 from the 22 year old’s baggage and another MVR 3,300 from his wallet.
“While being questioned, the 22 year old man confessed that the money was given to him by his romantic partner on his request. He further stated that he has spent some of the stolen money, and hidden away MVR 15,000 on Madifushi,” police stated.
Police added that since the female accomplice is under the age of 18, she will be questioned in the presence of representatives from the Gender and Family Protection Unit.
Police have now recovered and returned a total of MVR 45,700 from the stolen MVR 50,000 to its owner.
(0)Dislikes(0)State Trading Organization (STO) head office was broken into and robbed during the early hours of Tuesday (March 18).
STO Managing Director Adam Azim informed local media that a group of people had threatened the office’s security guard with knives and forced their way into the offices.
“They were not able to go up to the main safe. I don’t think they would have been able to steal any money, as we have a practice of depositing our earnings every day,” he is quoted as saying.
However, he stated that there might have been an unidentified amount of money in the office intended for use as petty cash, which might have been stolen.
A police media official confirmed that they are investigating a break in at STO headquarters, while stating that the amount of money stolen is as of yet unknown.
No related arrests have been made at the time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)Cases of theft reported to police last month increased by 46 percent compared to January 2013, according to crime statistics from the Maldives Police Service (MPS).
A total of 623 cases of theft were reported to police in January – an average of 20 cases a day – while 427 cases were reported in the same period last year.
Some 51 cases of theft and four cases of robbery have been reported so far in February.
Cases of robbery also rose from 54 in January 2013 to 88 cases last month.
Reported instances of theft had increased dramatically in 2012 compared to the previous year. While 4,734 cases of theft were reported in 2011, the number rose to 6,572 in 2012 – a 38 percent annual increase.
The figure climbed to 6,681 in 2013.
Robbery and theft currently account for roughly 50 percent of crimes reported to police.
Next to theft, the second highest number of cases reported in January 2014 involved drugs.
The number of drug cases filed last month reached 461, which represents a 56 percent hike compared to January 2013, during which police began investigating 295 cases.
The total number of crimes reported to police meanwhile increased by 20 percent compared with January of last year. While 1,742 cases were reported this year, the figure was 1,436 in January 2013.
Apart from theft, robbery, and drugs, other crimes reported in January this year included 100 cases of assault, 40 cases of sexual offences, 21 cases of domestic violence, six cases of counterfeit and forgery, 49 cases of vandalism, 17 cases of bounced cheques, 44 cases of embezzlement, and 150 lost items reported.
Meanwhile, at 189 cases, traffic accidents declined by eight percent last month compared to the same period in 2013.
Falling thieves
In November 2013, two men died after falling from buildings in the capital Malé during attempted robberies.
On November 15, a 29-year-old died of head injuries sustained in a fall from the fifth floor of the Galolhu Muthi residence.
One day later, a 31-year-old fell from the fourth floor of Henveiru Alikurige while attempting to jump on to the roof of a neighbouring house.
His foot reportedly got caught on an outdoor air-conditioning unit, which came loose and fell on his head.
Both thieves fell to their death while attempting to escape after being caught by the residents.
On January 7, a 27-year-old man fell from the fifth floor of Maafanu Mundhooge after a break-in. He survived the fall with minor injuries after landing on a pile of sand.
Three days later, a 32-year-old woman fell from the fourth floor of Manchangoalhi Light Corner during an alleged robbery attempt.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have recovered MVR200,000 and MVR68,000 worth of goods stolen from a shop in the island of Eydhafushi, Baa Atoll.
Police said that two minors and an 18 year-old man were arrested in connection with the case.
According to the police, the shop was robbed in the early hours of January 31, and was reported to police the same afternoon.
Police stated that a special police investigation team in Baa Atoll had conducted an operation, recovering the money and property, and arresting the suspects.
(0)Dislikes(0)Naifaru Island Council President Mahmood Abdul Hameed has stated that a fund box in Masjid-ul-Taqwa in the island had been damaged on Tuesday night, and all the fund money in it has been stolen.
Stating that the robbery has now been reported to the police, Hameed said that the amount of money in the box is not known.
“It is a fund box fixed onto a wall in the mosque. What we get from it is used to repair the mosque and for other needs of the mosque. Every 15 days, the council office retrieves the money deposited in it,” Mahmood told local media.
Mahmood further said that all three mosques in the island had fund boxes in it, and that the other two boxes had also been tampered with, but that the thieves had not been successful in the other two attempts which occurred on the same night.
(0)Dislikes(0)Local media has reported that two masked men broke in to an apartment in Henveiru ward where two girls were sleeping, attacking the girls before fleeing with a laptop, mobile phones and other valuables.
Police confirmed with local media. stating that the incident occurred at about 6:30am this morning.
According to local media reports, the two girls were aged 21 and 13 – both being admitted to ADK hospital for treatment.
Details of the injuries were not revealed.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police are investigating the theft of more than MVR500,000 from the safe at the Faafu atoll council office in Nilandhoo today.
The robbery was reported to police at 7:56am this morning, according to police media. The thieves are believed to have broken the safe after entering the atoll council office through a window.
Police are currently trying to locate a suspect while investigation and forensic teams from the Nilandhoo and Dhaal Kudahuvadhoo police stations are active in the island.
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