With a rising number of cases related to theft and robbery, mugging cases reported to the Maldives Police Service thus far this year has reached 120.

Over MVR six million has been robbed in physical cash thus far this year, by groups of men in capital city Malé. One of the cases include the robbery of MVR 250,000 from Fuel Supplies Maldives (FSM) while another includes the robbery of around MVR 300,000 from a shop in Malé’s suburban extension Hulhumalé.

Also, this year, over MVR 50,000 was stolen along with a cheque amounting to MVR 160,000 that belonged to Horizon Fisheries.

Police reports also show that a group of individuals had threatened salesmen at Expert Motors and robbed over MVR 500,000.

In addition, a group of men wearing helmets had also robbed over MVR 2.3 million from an Indian national near State Bank of India, while another group masked underneath helmets had also robbed MVR two million after attacking a van carrying the cash belonging to fisheries company MIFCO.

According to police statistics, they had received 120 reports of robbery and theft so far this year.

37 out of them were reported in January, 44 were reported within the past month and 39 cases of theft were reported throughout March.

Police have thus far arrested eight in connection to these robberies while continuing their investigations into said cases. Some of them have also been remanded, with the remands of some even having been extended.