Mohamed 'Pencil' Mafaz, the prime suspect in the murder of Nadheem 'Nadey' Abdul Raheem, has been remanded for 15 days by the Criminal Court.

24-year-old Nadheem was stabbed in the head by a group of masked assailants on July 27, and died two days later while receiving treatment.

Mafaz was arrested on Thursday night for his role in planning and executing the stabbing. Mafaz is a known criminal who previously had MoniCon order issued on him. While charges had also been raised against him for violating MoniCon order, he was later freed. To this date, the authorities had not disclosed why Mafaz was freed.

The number of fatal attacks in the capital Male’ had increased over the past months, with Maldives Police Service stating that arrests have been made in connection to the murders.