Four remanded pending trial over dollar robbery at VIA

Four suspects arrested over the robbery of more than USD 100,000 from Velana International Airport (VIA) have been remanded in custody pending trial.

The court ordered their detention after they were produced on charges of threatening and robbing two employees of Bank of Maldives (BML) who were transporting cash between the old and new terminals.

The robbery took place along the walkway connecting the old terminal and the new Terminal 1, where two masked men threatened BML staff with knives and seized a suitcase containing USD 130,000 (over MVR 2 million) to be used for the bank’s dollar counter for outbound travelers.

According to police, the four arrested in connection with the case are:

The suspects allegedly fled the scene on a 12-seater speedboat shortly after the robbery, travelling to K. Huraa around 8:45 a.m. Police later arrested the four men on the island.

A source from Huraa said CCTV footage from a guesthouse showed the suspects handling dollars.

Earlier remanded for five days, the four were presented before court again, which ordered that they remain in custody until the end of the trial, a police media official said.