Six masked men bound and gagged a security guard at the Kaafu Atoll Huraa Island Council Office and stole an unspecified amount of money from the office on Friday morning.
Council President Easa Ahmed told local news agency Haveeru the robbers stole a safe and documents from the office. The safe contained the salaries of all the council’s employees for the month of May.
The incident was reported to the police at 3:15 am on Friday.
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(0)The Criminal Court has sentenced a fourth man to a prison sentence for stealing a ‘Bettina Barty’ brand lotion bottles in 2012.
Ibrahim Ali of Noonu Atoll Velidhoo Goabilige was sentenced to two years and six months in jail due to his previous record of theft.
The court had previously sentenced three other men in separate cases for stealing lotion bottles.
On April 7, Hussein Fazeel of Pink Dream in Malé received a two and a half year term for stealing ten ‘Enchanteur’ brand lotion bottle and Mohamed Rasheed of Fuvahmulah Island was sentenced to one year for stealing a ‘Bettina Barty’ lotion bottle on April 28.
In February, Ali Rasheed of Haa Dhaal Hanimadhoo Island was sentenced to four and a half years for stealing three lotion bottles. Rasheed also had been convicted of theft four times previously.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested a man for entering a house, threatening its people with a sharp object and stealing jewellery and a phone.
According to the police, the arrested man is 22 years of age. He was arrested while inside the Fisherman’s Park, Malé, after the burglary.
Police found the stolen items in his possession.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a man to two and a half years imprisonment for stealing ten ‘Enchanter’ brand body lotion bottles from a shop in Malé. The sentence was delivered after he confessed to committing the crime.
The case, sent for prosecution in December 2013, was scheduled five times before the perpetrator was brought before the court yesterday in police custody.
The man was earlier sentenced for one year banishment in 2013 for shoplifting and was sentenced for six year imprisonment in 2004 on drug charges.
At retail price ten bottles of the lotion in question would cost around MVR320 (US$20).
(0)Dislikes(0)Yesterday (15 February) police have arrested a man who allegedly stole six mobile phones from three boats docked at Malé Fisherman’s Harbor.
Police said that he was caught by Maafannu Police Station officers who were patrolling Maafannu ward on Saturday night.
The man was stopped by police officers when they noticed his odd behavior and while police officers were taking him to Maafannu station to search his body he threw a bag which had the stolen phones inside.
Police said when officers asked him about the phones he confessed that he had stolen them from different boats in the area. Police subsequently went and handed the stolen phones to their owners.
Criminal Investigation Department is further investigating the case, police said.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Crminal Court has sentenced Ali Rasheed to four years and six months in jail for stealing three lotion bottles rom Lily F&B Suppliers store in Malé in 2011.
The verdict was based solely on Rasheed’s confession. According to the Crminal Court, Rasheed had been convicted of three counts of theft previously.
Under the Maldives Penal Code, if an individual is found guilty of theft for the fourth time, he or she may be sentenced to four years in jail or banishment. The Criminal Court added six months to Rasheed’s term for stealing from a shop.
(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)Police have arrested three Bangladeshi nationals and two Maldivians in connection with the robbery of the tsunami site office on the island of Villingili in Gaafu Alifu Atoll.
A total of MVR12,000 was stolen from the office and police were able to recover half of it, said police.
Police said that MVR3000 was found with the two Maldivians arrested in connection with the case while the other three ex-pats had MVR1000 each.
Gaafu Alifu Villingili police station is further investigating the case.
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