Police fail to disclose details of arrests made in national security operation

Authorities are yet to spill the details of the arrests made during a large-scale national security raid operation conducted jointly by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) earlier this week.

While the police and MNDF launched a special operation related to national security in the congested capital Malé City on the night of 10 March 2025, MPS has refused to provide further details of the operation.

MPS on Monday night, abruptly took to social media to announce that based on information received by police intelligence, the police institution and MNDF were jointly conducting a special operation related to national security in the Greater Malé Region.

The police published the statement on social media at around 10:35pm. However, later at 10:56pm, it was stated in the police media group that the statement shared on social media platform ‘X’ had been temporarily removed as sensitive details were being verified.

Later that night, the police, in collaboration with MNDF, carried out the operation and arrested three individuals. They also searched and inspected four locations in Malé City as well as its suburban extension Hulhumalé.

While the police arrested three individuals, one of them was arrested from a pickup truck traveling near the Republic Square. The second person was arrested from Hulhumalé Vinares.

Despite repeated inquiries to the police regarding the arrests, they have not disclosed any information about the identities of those arrested, nor the reason for their arrest, or why the houses were searched. Even when questioned, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Shifan, who is the spokesperson, did not provide any answers. In addition to this, the head of police media, Chief Inspector of Police Waseema Hassan, also did not respond to questions.

While the police and MNDF has jointly conducted a special operation related to national security in the capital region, the police have not revealed whether the operation has been concluded.

Several local media outlets have reported that the operation is related to a case of terrorism. It has also been reported across media outlets that some materials believed to be potentially used for an attack were found during the raid operation.