Arrested suspects seen on CCTV counting dollars

Sources from K. Huraa have said that the suspects in the dollar theft were seen counting the money on the CCTV footage of the guesthouse that they were staying at on the island.

The masked robbers had threatened two Bank of Maldives (BML) employees at Velana International Airport's (VIA) Terminal 1 and stole a suitcase with USD 130,000.

The robbers threatened the BML employees with knives and took the cash-filled suitcase from the walkway between the old terminal and the new terminal. 

The suitcase with the money was stolen while it was being transported to the dollar counter at the new Terminal 1. The suitcase contained dollars meant for issuance to local travelers headed abroad.

Home Minister Ali Ihusan yesterday said that four suspects had been apprehended, with the getaway speedboat having been found as well.

As per a source from Huraa who had spoken to Mihaaru News, the masked robbers stole the money from the BML employees from Terminal 1, with them taking a 12 seater speedboat to Huraa yesterday morning around 8:45 am. It is unclear as to where they had gone right after they left the airport.

A source from Huraa stated that while people had not seen the suspects carrying a suitcase in the island, a CCTV camera from the guesthouse the suspects were staying in had captured them handling the dollars. The resident said that the amount of dollars was not a lot.

"Police are currently conducting their investigation," the source said.

The dollar thieves are currently in custody at Huraa. Two of the four arrested suspects are native to Guraidhoo, with the native residence of the other two suspects being unknown as of yet.

A source familiar with the investigation said that bottles of alcohol had also been recovered, but it is unclear whether the stolen money had been found.

The two suspects from Guraidhoo have a brother living in Huraa with them making frequent visits to the island, as per the source.

"There are five locations on the island the police want to search. Court complications in getting the court order have delayed the search until this morning. There is no judge on the island currently. There was an attempt to search a house last night via a court order. However, it did not move forward due to a complication," said the source.

The masked robbers stole the money from the BML employees from Terminal 1, with them taking a 12 seater speedboat to Huraa yesterday morning around 8:45 am.

The robbers had reportedly got to the terminal via a car. The suspects fled using a speedboat docked at the VIA jetty, according to a source.

Another source shared that as they fled with the suitcase, the thieves had sprayed a substance in the faces of Aviation Security Command Officers at the scene and threatened them with knives, as well.

Police clarified that the BML staff did not use Police security during the transport of these funds.

It has been confirmed that Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in acquiring police security are non-existent when BML employees transport money from the airport terminal. However, when transporting money from ATM's and through the streets, full police security is present.

Police said yesterday morning that they received reports at around 4:45am of two masked robbers stealing a cash-filled suitcase from two employees of BML at the airport.