Police operation for annual school holiday to begin tomorrow

The police have said that their "Riveli Operation" they have set for the annual school holiday will begin tomorrow.

During a press conference held at Iskandar Koshi today, Assistant Commissioner of Police Abdulla Shareef stated that the operation will begin tomorrow night and end on 2nd January. Shareef also stated that this year's operation will cover Male', Hulhumale', Villimale' and nearby resorts.

"This operation will see us ensuring the safety of tourists and an increase of police activity in Male' in order to reduce crime," said Shareef.

He did not give any additional details regarding the operation.

As per the police at the press conference, of the 3,000 plus cases that have been reported in the Male' region this year, the majority of those are crimes of theft.

Superintendent of Police Abdulla Rasheed said that of the 3,449 cases that have been reported in Male', 1,425 of those are theft cases. This amounts to 41 percent of the total cases, or around four thefts each day.

Rasheed said 93 percent of thefts involved motorcycles and electronic items such as mobile phones.

“Of the theft cases reported in Male', 93 percent involve motorcycles, electronics and mobile phones. We prioritize the recovery of motorcycles,” he said. “So far this year, 967 motorcycles have been reported stolen, and 865 have been recovered, which is 89 percent of stolen motorcycles,” said Rasheed.

Police estimate the value of the recovered motorcycles at about MVR 47 million. The total value of stolen property recovered and returned by police this year stands at around MVR 50 million, Rasheed said.