Tag: robbery

Three police and an MNDF officer arrested for robbing expatriate workers

Police have arrested three police officers and a Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officer after they allegedly robbed a large amount of cash from expatriate workers in a house near the State Bank of India (SBI) in Male’s Heniveru ward.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that one police officer was a member of the police investigations team, while another was a Special Operations (SO) officer.

Haveeru reported that the men entered the house and attacked and threatened the expatriate workers on Friday night around 9:00pm.

Two of the police officers were in uniform during the incident, according to Haveeru.

The paper reported that two police officers met one of the expatriates on the road and robbed him of his mobile phone, before heading towards the house the workers were living in.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef today confirmed to Minivan News that a robbery was reported to police on Friday night.

Haneef said he could not confirm whether police officers and a MNDF officer were involved in the robbery.

‘’There were Maldivians involved in it,’’ he said, adding that this was all the information that he could share regarding the case at the moment.

Online newspaper Manadhoolive has also reported the same incident.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police recover electronics stolen from Irin Enterprises offices

Police have recovered a laptop and other electronic items stolen from Irin Enterprises Office and returned them to the owner.

Police said the items were discovered inside the house of a minor, already in police custody, following a police search of his house.

The minor was arrested on April 23 for alleged involvement in a different case, police said.

A police investigation revealed that another minor involved in the robbery of Irin Enterprises was also in police custody, arrested in connection with a different case on April 25.

According to statistics released to the media by the Home Ministry’s Juvenile Justice Unit, 155 offences committed by minors have been filed this year.

Most of the cases involving male juveniles were related to drugs, theft, sex, assault and vandalism, while most of the cases concerning females related to alcohol, creating unrest in an unlawful gathering, and theft, according to the Juvenile Justice Unit.

The unit also noted that 68 percent of minors who committed felonies are children who do not attend to school. The most number of crimes were committed by children between the ages of 16-18.

Factors leading to the involvement of children in criminal activities included the “negative influence of the media”, adults luring them into a criminal environment, and having parents who were criminals, the report noted. and

According to police statistics for the month of May, 58 cases of theft, five cases of robbery, five cases of assault and 18 cases of drugs have been reported.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police arrests suspected thief who stole Rf100,000 products from a shop

Police have arrested a man suspected of stealing Rf100,000 (US$6500) worth of products from a shop near South West harbor area, according to police.

The man is allegedly stole four cases of Camel Lights cigarettes, 35 cartons of Kent brand cigarettes, 45 cartons of Benson cigarettes, 120 mobile phone recharge cards worth Rf100 each and 100 Rf50 recharge cards, and a number of cans of Red Bull.

Police have not disclosed the name of the person, said he was a 24 year-old male who was arrested while he was trying to sell the cigarettes.

Police said 25 cartons of cigarettes had been recovered. The theft was reported to police earlier last month.

Recently police arrested two people accused of a series of robberies in which holes were cut in the roofs of the target premises, mostly shops in Male’.

The arrests followed a series of robberies from April 7-15 in which shops were robbed at night, with the burglars entering through holes cut in the ceilings of the stores.

Police recovered Rf498,000 (US$33,200) worth of stolen items and money, and Rf 37,000 (US$2466) and Rf50,000 (US$3333) worth of stolen jewelry following the arrests.

According to police statistics, 700 cases of theft, 127 cases of assault, 84 cases of robbery, 275 cases related to drugs, 166 cases of traffic violation, 57 cases of sexual offense, 18 cases of domestic violence, 13 cases of counterfeit and forgery, 71 cases of vandalism, 22 cases of check bounce and 28 cases of embezzlement were filed at police in the month of April.

So far in May police have received two cases of assault, 22 cases of theft, one case of robbery, five cases related to drugs, 12 cases of traffic violation, one case of vandalism and one case of embezzlement.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police arrest two thieves accused of ‘hole-in-roof’ robberies

Police have arrested two people accused of a series of robberies in which holes were cut in the roofs of the target premises, mostly shops in Male’.

In a statement, Police Inspector Mohamed Dhaud said that from April 7-15 police have received reports that shops were being robbed at night, with the burglars entering through holes cut in the ceilings.

Inspector Dhaud said each night two or three shops were robbed using the same method, noticeably shops located near the local market area and shops on Chandanee Magu, a main road in Male’.

According to Dhaud, investigations showed that it was the same persons involved in all the robberies, leading police to launch a special operation to catch the thieves.

Police met with people around the area and one of them told patrolling officers that he had received a text message from a security alarm device installed inside a shop in Chandanee Magu called ‘Hanamaruko’.

Police immediately set off to Hanamaruko shop and found the two persons inside, catching them red-handed.

Two of them tried to escape when they saw police officers, but one of them was arrested inside the shop while the other person ran up to the Islamic Centre to escape, Inspector Dhaud said.

Police identified the two persons as Adam Shareef, of Irama on the island of Mathiveri in Alifu Alifu Atoll, and Mohamed Abubakuru, of Gulalamaa on the island of Miladhoo in Noonu Atoll.

Adam Shareef had a record number of robberies on his criminal record, police said, and had been released under the Second Chance Program given to inmates by the former government. Mohamed Abubakuru had no history of being involved in any criminal activity.

Dhaud said the pair’s fingerprints matched those obtained from other shops that were robbed in a similar manner.

Police furthermore said they had recovered Rf498,000 (US$33,200) worth of stolen items and money, and Rf 37,000 (US$2466) and Rf50,000 (US$3333) worth of stolen jewelry.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Robbery targets offices of senior politicians and Six Senses group

Police are investigating a robbery that yesterday targeted a building containing offices belonging to Vice-President designate Waheed Deen, luxury resort operator Six Senses, and the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Interim Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that police teams were currently investigating the thefts at the offices, which are all based in the Jazeera Building on Boduthakurufaanu Magu in Male’. However, Haneef was unable to confirm what had been taken during the raids or if anyone had been hurt as a result, adding that it was “too early” to establish whether there was a political motive to the crimes.

According to the local media, a large sum of money is reported to have been taken from the office of Bandos Island Resort, owned by Waheed Deen, whilst significant damage was said to have been caused to the properties targeted during the alleged break in.

Local media reported that a sum of around Rf 1 million was taken from the Bandos office, whilst two safes at the Six Senses office said to contain Rf 200,000 (US$13,000) and US$5000, were also emptied during the raid. Six Senses operates several of the country’s more upmarket properties, including Soneva Fushi.

News agencies said that no money was believed to have been taken from the offices of Reeko Moosa Manik’s Heavy Load company. However, electronic equipment including computers and fax machines were reportedly destroyed as well as official documents, including staff passports.

The intruders also reportedly left several messages for Moosa Manik including, “Moosa, you may have escaped this time but you will be killed,” and “We will vote for you next time if you put some cash next time”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Gang robs elderly man of Rf 200,000

A group of four men have robbed an elderly man of Rf 200,000 (US$13,000) while he was on his way to deposit the money in the bank.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed incident and said police were investigating the case.

‘’The elderly man suffered minor injuries in the incident,’’ Shiyam said, but would not give further details.

According to local newspaper Haveeru, the man was robbed as he walked out from a café inside the Alimas Carnival area.

The paper quoted a witness as saying that as the elderly man walked out, four men on two motorbikes were waiting for him and forced him to give the money to them.

He told the paper that the assailants left a box cutter blade and a sandal in the area as they fled away.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission has put up a notice on the High Commission Office notice board informing all Indian citizens residing in the Maldives to take “precautionary measures” while walking in the streets of Male’, and to avoid wearing jewelry.

The High Indian High Commission noted that there were increasing reports of snatch-and-grab incidents lately.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Sleeping man attacked, robbed of Rf 200,000

Last night a group of people entered a house in Henveiru ward and attacked a middle-aged man while he was asleep in the house, before fleeing with more than Rf 200,000 (US$13,000), a laptop and a mobile phone.

Local media reported that police confirmed the incident, but gave little information about the case.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that the man was attacked with a screw driver and suffered injuries to his head.

Police are investigating the case.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Specially-trained officers patrolling the streets during Ramadan to reduce crime

Police Chief Inspector Ahmed Abdul Rahman has announced that specially trained police officers will be patrolling the streets of Male’ during Ramadan, in a bid to counteract a spike in crime observed during the Holy month.

Speaking to the press, Rahman said that every year during Ramadan assault and robbery cases have been observed to increase than compared to other months of the year.

Police have noted that thieves become more active between sunset and sunrise, with records showing that most of the theft and robbery cases have occurred during this time.

The specially-trained police officers will patrol the streets and keep an eye on crime hotspots, he said.

He called on everyone to be more cautious during the month of Ramadan and to upgrade the security of offices and homes.

President Mohamed Nasheed last week announced that almost 400 convicted criminals will be released from prison to offer them a second chance to enter society as a reformed person.

Although the public has raised concern over the issue of  impending release of close to 400 convicted criminals, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair has said it will not result in a spike in crime rates in Male’.

““Out of the 119 people released on a previous occasion only two people have had to be taken back to prison for committing an offence,” Zuhair said.

He added that the inmates will be released on the understanding that they would be returned to prison to complete the rest of their sentences if they committed any sort of offence in the next three years.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Resorts must now invest after not doing enough for security, says MATI

Tourism insiders say that the industry has not done enough to provide security at the country’s resorts as authorities, while security officials and businesses continue to work on outlining new protective measures for properties across the country.

As security officials continue to await the outcomes from consultations by a steering group formed following a security seminar and workshop held last week to outline methods to reduce possible threats facing the country’s resorts, some property owners and managers appear divided over the severity of the challenges faced.

Speaking to Minivan News, ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said that despite ongoing attempts to outline a nationwide resort security initiative since 2008, no such policy had as yet been put in place.

Following last week’s security seminars, Sim said he was confident that by working with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the police, and the coastguard, progress was now being made in outlining long-term security strategies for tourism. He conceded though that the industry would need to bare more of the financial brunt to protect its interests in the future.

“Resorts do need more investment in regards to security, we haven’t done enough so far,” said the MATI head.

Sim said that last week’s seminar reflected growing industry concerns of late raised by the active Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture as well as industry bodies over protecting the country’s lucrative resort islands from possible theft and attack.

The country has this year alone faced two isolated, yet high-profile incidences of intrusion at properties such as Kihaadhuffaru resort and Baros Island Resort and Spa highlighting for some the magnitude of the threats facing the country.

Sim claimed that these concerns were not an “isolated” issue for tourist properties alone, but rather a symptom of rising levels of crime on inhabited islands such as the Maldivian capital of Male’ that had spilled onto resorts.

“This is not to say that the government is working on this issue [of crime], but really they need better laws in the country for offenders,” he claimed.

To try and combat fears over criminals targeting resorts, the MATI Secretary-General said he believed that improved networking between different resorts and ease of communication was a vital part of limiting potential attacks in the future.  He added that the closer cooperation between tourism officials and the police and armed forces in the country was also seen as another key aim.

However, Sim claimed that rather than bringing wide-ranging reforms to tourist and resort security, the country would be better prioritising commitments in areas where it was able to ensure effective changes could be put in place.

He added that a committee containing government and tourism industry figures was now working to address what sort of commitments should be prioritised on the back of last week’s security seminar.

“The best thing to come from these talks is that we are now attempting to work together [with the government and security forces]. We know we are not alone as an industry,” he said. “In the past, we have tended not to mix the leisure side of holidays with security, but this is something that we need to do.”

Security advisor

Speaking today to Minivan News, National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal said that he still haven’t received feedback from the steering committee of government and industry figures regarding outlining new proposals for resort security.

While Faisal added that he was not sure of the exact nature that potential changes could mean for how defence forces worked with the tourism industry, he was convinced it would not lead to a rise in their presence on resort islands.

“Personally, I don’t think operational changes will be seen in the manner that police and the MNDF operate regarding tourism,” he said. “There will probably be some training programmes conducted by police for resort security, but I don’t think we will see a physical presence by defence forces at these resorts.”

In addressing any perceived threats posed by Maldivian gang crime reaching the isolated environs of the country’s tourist properties, not all resort groups appeared to have share MATI’s beliefs that security problems were generated solely by offshore criminals.

One general manager for a leading multinational brand of resorts in the country said under anonymity that he believed the resort robberies were more likely to have resulted from serving or former employees with knowledge of the properties than from random attacks by gangs or opportunistic thieves.

In taking this view, the general manager said that he believed it was often imperative to try and effectively manage staff and their grievances that could often occur from very small and often easily rectified measures.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)